Let's start by defining the term ecology. Ecology is the ‘the branch of biology concerned with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.’(Stevenson and Waite 2011, p453). In other words it is the interaction between organisms and the environment around them. We can use this definition as a way for us to define Sound ecology as the understanding of the environment by the interaction between it, its organisms and the sounds that they make or are surrounded by.
A Brief History of Sound Ecology
Coined by the American musician and ecologist Bernie Krause, who founded the Wild Sanctuary; an organisation dedicated to the archiving of natural sounds and field recordings. The term acknowledged the study of ecology through the notion of sound.
Bernie Krause - The Great Animal Orchestra (2013)
Bernie Krause - Voices of the Wild (2015)