SCIENCE

Technology developed to study earthquakes could help conservationists monitor elephant populations from afar. (Pacific Standard)

Learn more about how elephants communicate with our great video resource. (Cue up to about 1:36.)

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit.

Discussion Ideas

• The Pacific Standard article identifies two ways elephants communicate using vocalization: sound and infrasound. What is sound? What is infrasound?
  • Sound describes a vibration that travels as pressure (sound waves) in a medium such as air, water, or earth.
    • Sound is measured in units called hertz (Hz). Hertz measure the frequency of sound waves.
      • High-frequency sounds correspond to higher pitches. Smaller animals are associated with high-frequency sounds—the trill of a bird call, the squeak of a mouse.
      • Low-frequency sounds correspond to lower pitches. Big animals are associated with low-frequency sounds—the song of a whale, the growl of a warthog.
      • Humans can typically hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 hertz.
  • Infrasound describes sound waves traveling in frequencies below about 20 hertz, too low-frequency for most people to hear. In addition to elephants, animals such as whales and hippopotamuses can use infrasound to communicate.
  • FYI: Ultrasound describes sound waves traveling in frequencies above 20,000 hertz, too high-frequency for most people to hear. Animals such as bats and dolphins use ultrasound to echolocate.

• Researchers who conducted the latest study used geophones to study elephant sounds. What are geophones?
  • Geophones are devices used to measure seismic waves—vibrations within and along Earth’s surface.
  • Geophones are one of many instruments used to monitor earthquake activity.

• How might geophones be used to protect elephants?
  • Elephants in remote areas are most vulnerable to poachers, and geophones can detect and record infrasound vocalizations from half-a-mile away. A network of geophones “could allow both researchers and conservationists to monitor elephant behavior from afar. When elephants encounter danger, they often emit warning calls and run—both behaviors that generate these subtle seismic signals. Humans are one of the only threats to adult elephants, and remotely sensing these distress signals could help conservationists thwart poachers.”

TEACHERS TOOLKIT

Pacific Standard: Could Earthquake-Monitoring Technology Help Save Elephants?

Nat Geo: A Natural History of the African Elephant

(extra credit!) Current Biology: Classifying elephant behaviour through seismic vibrations