bioacoustics

American  

[bahy-oh-uh-koo-stiks, -uh-kou-] / ˌbaɪ oʊ əˈku stɪks, -əˈkaʊ- /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the science of sounds produced by or affecting living organisms, as for communication or echolocation.

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Other Word Forms

• bioacoustical
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bioacoustics

First recorded in 1955–60; bio- + acoustics

Example Sentences

Last year, the botanic garden installed bioacoustics monitors on trees to record pollinating insects' population by listening to the sound of their buzz.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

We had already used machine intelligence to analyze the codas, recorded using bioacoustics, and determined that both the clicks and the intervals between clicks are important.

From Salon • May 29, 2025

But three strandings close to his lab enabled lead author Coen Elemans, professor of bioacoustics at the University of Southern Denmark, to collect fresh vocal tracts from a recently deceased humpback, minke, and sei whale.

From National Geographic • Feb. 21, 2024

This principle of considering the relationship between singing effort to sound output has been missing in previous animal acoustic research, say the researchers, so some basic bioacoustics theories may need to change.

From Science Daily • Nov. 8, 2023

There is obvious hazard in trying to assign a particular meaning to this special kind of sound, and problems like this exist throughout the field of bioacoustics.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas