Animal bioacoustics is just one dimension of Acoustics '08 Paris. It is the field within acoustical science devoted to such things as analyzing the sounds of animals near and far -- the laughing, whooping, and groaning sounds of hyenas, for instance, or the chirp of birdsongs. Another hot area within animal bioacoustics is how sonar and other human sounds affect marine and land animals.

Some of the most interesting animal sounds are those we cannot hear -- like the croaks made by a rare species of frog that communicates ultrasonically or the high-pitched noises bats use to find their way through the dark. Acoustical research helps us better understand the wide world of nature, and it is also guiding the development of new technologies that will improve many people's lives, such as a new sonar device to help the blind navigate their environment.

This news release highlights just a few of the animal bioacoustic talks at Acoustics '08 Paris. More details on the other 3,500 presentations at the meeting and instructions for journalists who wish to cover the meeting are contained at the bottom of this release.-American Institute of Physics