Report on the use of passive acoustic monitoring in Prince Edward Island National Park

Passive acoustic monitoring has proven to be a valuable tool for monitoring vocalizing species. Environmental sensors are becoming increasingly easy to program and can autonomously generating extensive data sets of the soundscape, an invaluable resource for ecological integrity monitoring. Prince Edward Island National deployed autonomous recording units (ARUs) across 30 locations during a comprehensive five-year survey. ARUs detected a total of 110 species including birds, amphibians and mammals. The analysis revealed that songbird species richness and diversity remained relatively stable, while single-species occupancy exhibited diverse patterns. Common and generalist species showed consistent occupancy, but there was a notable reduction in conifer-nesting species in 2023, likely attributed to forest structural loss. Ongoing monitoring and dynamic models can yield more detailed and predictive results to ensure the continued maintenance of ecological integrity in the Park.