午夜福利1000集合

THIS month I鈥檓 taking advantage of a wonderful live performance that happens outside my window every day. I鈥檓 rising early to listen to the dawn chorus 鈥� the collective chirping, tweeting and singing of wild birds. It鈥檚 all in the name of science鈥� on my smartphone as part of the Dawn Chorus project, to help research on biodiversity.

You can participate during May by downloading the app on your smartphone and recording morning bird sounds wherever you live. You will need to wake up early though鈥� the Dawn Chorus team recommends starting half an hour before sunrise.

Many birds are at their most vocal around dawn, hidden from predators by the low light levels, which also leave them unable to search for their food. Low levels of background noise and the stillness of the air means .

Each species starts singing at a specific time relative to sunrise, so the sound of the bird choir changes as different species join in. The sound also varies between regions of the world, depending on the species present and the season. Other factors, such as weather and background noise, may also influence the chorus.

Your early morning recordings will help researchers track bird species in different parts of the world and correlate this with habitat changes in specific areas, such as deforestation or noise pollution.

鈥淏ioacoustic monitoring is becoming an important conservation tool,鈥� says Lisa Gill at the Biotopia Natural History Museum Bayern in Germany, part of the team running the Dawn Chorus project. 鈥淏irds are also important bioindicators of habitat change,鈥� she says.

But don鈥檛 worry if you aren鈥檛 an early bird. Other projects need volunteers to listen to prerecorded animal sounds. Whale Chat has recruited thousands of people to listen online to underwater recordings and help identify humpback whale vocalisations. Other projects give you the chance to do the same for dolphin and manatee sounds. Researchers will use the data to investigate how marine mammals communicate. Visit to join in.

If you prefer frogs, is looking for volunteers to label frog calls in recordings. You can take part via the Zooniverse online platform for citizen science, and help researchers monitor frog populations in Australia.

Growing evidence suggests access to nature boosts our mental health. Just listening to the sounds of birds, whales and frogs made me happier and more relaxed.

鈥淭he main goal is to get humans to stop and listen,鈥� says Gill. By appealing to the sense of hearing, she says, the Dawn Chorus project aims to create a deep connection to nature and a strong awareness of how human activities interfere with nature.

For other projects visit聽newscientist.com/maker.