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Costa Rica Is Saving Forest Ecosystems by Listening to Them

Monitoring the noises within ecosystems reveals their health—allowing researchers to monitor changes in biodiversity, detect threats, and measure the effectiveness of conservation strategies.

Using bioacoustic recordings, studies have shown that some birds shout loudly to make themselves heard in cities and that sea turtle hatchlings communicate from the nest to coordinate their hatching. Retamosa likes this strategy because it’s non-invasive to animals, makes it easier to have ears in large areas and hard-to-reach places, and occasionally helps discover mysterious species. Their presence could be a functional indicator of the state of the AmistOsa Biological Corridor, which connects La Amistad International Park, on the border with Panama, with other reserves in southern Costa Rica.

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