Sound for Fantasy and Freedom

Sound is an integral part of our everyday lives. Sound tells us about physical events in the environ- ment, and we use our voices to share ideas and emotions through sound. When navigating the world on a day-to-day basis, most of us use a balanced mix of stimuli from our eyes, ears and other senses to get along. We do this totally naturally and without effort. In the design of computer game experiences, traditionally, most attention has been given to vision rather than the balanced mix of stimuli from our eyes, ears and other senses most of us use to navigate the world on a day to day basis. The risk is that this emphasis neglects types of interaction with the game needed to create an immersive experience. This chapter summarizes the relationship between sound properties, GameFlow and immersive experience and discusses two projects in which Interactive Institute, Sonic Studio has balanced perceptual stimuli and game mechanics to inspire and create new game concepts that liberate users and their imagination

Phenology:Climate change is shifting the rhythm of nature

The chapter titled Phenology: Climate change is shifting the rhythm of nature looks at how climate change is disrupting the life cycle patterns of plant and animal species, its consequences, and the need to address this issue by restoring ecological connectivity and biological diversity and most importantly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions

The Soundscape of the St. Johns River and its Potential Impacts on the Habitat Use Patterns of Bottlenose Dolphins

The development of effective management plans for animal populations relies on an understanding of how the population is utilizing the habitat as well as the identification of any critical habitat areas. The St. Johns River (SJR), an urban estuary with a high level of anthropogenic disturbance, is home to a resident population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). In chapter one, SJR dolphin habitat use patterns, the factors that influenced these patterns, and the critical habitat areas were identified. Significant associations were found in most pair-wise comparisons between season, behavioral state, group size, water depth, and location, indicating that the overall habitat use patterns of SJR dolphins were influenced by complex interactions among these variables. Additionally, two critical habitat areas were identified. Both critical habitats had high levels of anthropogenic activity and the SJR will undergo further development during the Jacksonville Port expansion project. In conjunction with increasing levels of activity, anthropogenic sound can have numerous effects on cetaceans including the masking of signals, alterations in behavior, abandonment of critical habitats, and physiological stress. In chapter two, the soundscape of the SJR was characterized to evaluate the potential impacts of anthropogenic sound on SJR dolphins. Sound levels in the SJR were consistently high and anthropogenic sound was pervasive throughout the river. Therefore, the dolphins in the SJR are at risk of experiencing long-term behavioral and physiological stress due to anthropogenic sound. Together, this work provides valuable knowledge about dolphin habitat use and the soundscape ecology of an urbanized estuary that will enable more informed management decisions and hopefully lead to more effective conservation practices