High microphone signal-to-noise ratio enhances acoustic sampling of wildlife

BACKGROUND: Automated sound recorders are a popular sampling tool in ecology. However, the microphones themselves received little attention so far, and specifications that determine the recordings’ sound quality are seldom mentioned. Here, we demonstrate the importance of microphone signal-to-noise ratio for sampling sonant animals. METHODS: We tested 12 different microphone models in the field and measured their signal-to-noise ratios and detection ranges. We also measured the vocalisation activity of birds and bats that they recorded, the bird species richness, the bat call types richness, as well as the performance of automated detection of bird and bat calls. We tested the relationship of each one of these measures with signal-to-noise ratio in statistical models. RESULTS: Microphone signal-to-noise ratio positively affects the sound detection space areas, which increased by a factor of 1.7 for audible sound, and 10 for ultrasound, from the lowest to the highest signal-to-noise ratio microphone. Consequently, the sampled vocalisation activity increased by a factor of 1.6 for birds, and 9.7 for bats. Correspondingly, the species pool of birds and bats could not be completely detected by the microphones with lower signal-to-noise ratio. The performance of automated detection of bird and bat calls, as measured by its precision and recall, increased significantly with microphone signal-to-noise ratio. DISCUSSION: Microphone signal-to-noise ratio is a crucial characteristic of a sound recording system, positively affecting the acoustic sampling performance of birds and bats. It should be maximised by choosing appropriate microphones, and be quantified independently, especially in the ultrasound range.