Your Donated AudioMoths Are Powering New Science!
Contributing Authors: MaryKay Severino, Vayujeet Gokhale, Rosanne LaBaige, Erin Nichols, Michael Dawson, Matt Barton, Jean Nock, Don Ficken
Eclipse Soundscapes (ES) volunteers continue to make an impact long after the eclipses. Many people chose to donate their AudioMoth devices after submitting their ES data. Because of this generosity, these recorders now have a second life supporting scientific and educational work.
Nineteen donated devices are already in use through a growing collaboration with DarkSky Missouri, a project led by Don Ficken that is working to connect people with the sounds of the night. Scientists, educators, and community leaders are using them to explore and understand the sounds of the night. We first highlighted DarkSky Missouri’s work in an August 2024 post and webinar.
📝 Post: Dark Sky Missouri Uses AudioMoths to Study Nature at Night (August 9, 2024)
▶️ Webinar: Harnessing AudioMoths for Nighttime Nature Conservation (August 21, 2024)
Here’s how the collaboration has grown with the help of donated AudioMoths.
What is an AudioMoth?
A small, open-source device powered by 3 AA batteries that records environmental sounds, from bird calls and insect activity to human-made noise.
Where to donate my AudioMoth?
DarkSky Missouri c/o Don Ficken
13024 Barrett Crossing CT
St. Louis, MO 63122-4900
Questions? dficken@darkskymissouri.org
Donated Audiomoths are getting a second life at ...
At Truman State University, Dr. Vayujeet Gokhale is incorporating AudioMoths into their Freshman Seminar course “Dark Skies: A Natural Resource.” The course encourages students to appreciate the beauty of the night sky and to develop an appreciation of different life forms active after dark.
Listening to Nature After Dark
As one part of the course, between 8-10 AudioMoths will be installed in and around the main campus and the Truman farm, where the Truman observatory is based, to gather local nature sounds. Three students will monitor and care for each instrument, sharing collected data with the campus DarkSky student group, the Campus Environmental Committee and Student Club.
Connecting Light, Wildlife, and Conservation
This work also supports ongoing campus efforts to reduce light pollution and protect local wildlife. Truman State is installing fully shielded, dark-sky-friendly outdoor lights with color temperatures below 3000 K, which minimize glare and reduce disruption to nocturnal animals. Learning about which bird species are active on this Audubon-certified Tree Campus will help demonstrate to university stakeholders how these light improvements benefit local wildlife. Check out some Truman lighting pictures here.
Sharing Results with the Community
A short report summarizing the results of these observations will be shared with the Eclipse Soundscapes Community, DarkSky Missouri, and other campuses participating in the Campus SHINE initiative (https://www.campusshine.org/).
In the Mehlville School District, Library media specialist Erin Nichols is helping students tune into the world around them. Through two new projects that use AudioMoths, students will explore how sound connects to art, music, movement, and the natural environments across their school campuses.
Exploring Sound Through Art, Music, and Movement
At MOSAIC Elementary, Nichols is collaborating with the art, music, and PE teachers to build upon the first-grade sound unit by incorporating AudioMoths into a new lesson. Students will record sounds in nature and compare them to the tones of musical instruments, the rhythms of PE activities, and the textures of art materials. They will also hypothesize what each sound might look like and express their ideas through original artwork. This creative, cross-disciplinary project helps students explore how sound connects to both the natural world and human activity.
Exploring Biodiversity Across School Campuses
Another project now being planned involves MOSAIC, Bierbaum, and Wohlwend Elementaries to explore biodiversity on each school’s campus. Using AudioMoths to record nature sounds and comparing the amount and quality of green space at each site, students will investigate how natural areas affect local wildlife. This exploration may lead to future opportunities to create more native habitats on school grounds, giving students additional ways to connect with nature and learn about the importance of protecting native species.
Missouri Master Naturalists will continue their efforts to use AudioMoth devices to monitor nocturnal flight calls and explore nighttime ecology. Volunteers across the St. Louis metro area, including members of DarkSky Missouri, Missouri Master Naturalists, the St. Louis Audubon Society, and the Audubon Center at Riverlands, are deploying AudioMoth devices to capture the faint nocturnal calls of migrating birds each May and September.
Listening to the Night Sky
In one example, the program recorded flight calls over Gateway Arch National Park, identifying species such as the American Redstart, Least Sandpiper, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Missouri Master Naturalists from the Miramiguoa chapter have joined the effort, placing AudioMoths in nature reserves, backyard habitats throughout the metro area, and at a college observatory in southeast Jefferson County.
Connecting Data to Conservation Action
By documenting when birds are overhead, the team aims to raise awareness about the impact of light pollution on migratory pathways. This data supports community collaboration with Lights Out Heartland to encourage lighting practices that protect birds and promote the health of all living things.
The Saint Louis Zoo is preparing a sound-at-night program and will use donated AudioMoths to replace non-functioning units in their collection.
Supporting the WildCare Spring Peeper Program
The Saint Louis Zoo’s WildCare Spring Peeper Program will use donated AudioMoths to replace non-functioning units in their collection to assist with an ongoing bioacoustics survey of frogs/toads in the Saint Louis Metro Area. The devices will be used to replace non-functioning units to assist with an ongoing bioacoustics survey project titled “Spring Peeper Program: STL-Metro Presence & Absence Survey of non-arboreal Hylidae Species.”
Listening for Frogs after Dark
This study will focus on surveying the statistical metro area of Saint Louis for the presence or absence of the following three species: Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer), Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata), and Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans blanchardi).
Pay it Forwards - How to Donate Your AudioMoth
If you still have an AudioMoth you’d like to donate for use in education and nighttime science, the DarkSky Missouri team welcomes additional contributions. Send your device to:
DarkSky Missouri
c/o Don Ficken
13024 Barrett Crossing CT
St. Louis, MO 63122-4900
Questions? Reach out to Don at dficken@darkskymissouri.org.
Thank you again to ES volunteer scientists for being a part of Eclipse Soundscapes and for helping scientific exploration continue long after the 2023 and 2024 eclipses.