An exploration of biological sound in the oceans: its production, detection and utilisation by underwater animals.

Although I never worked on acoustics over my short marine science career, through various professors, a co-supervisor, labmates, flatmates and a brief stint working for a consultancy specialising in acoustics, I frequently found myself acoustics-adjacent. Which is to say that while I’m certainly no expert, I did not come to this book as a total lay person either.

I very much enjoyed this interesting and accessible overview on biological sound in the oceans, covering both the actual science and a brief history of this burgeoning field. There’s a good balance between the science and Kindgon’s own journey of curiosity on the topic.

Given the title, I did not expect marine mammals to feature so heavily, although I’m not surprised since we do know the most (though not heaps) about them in terms of sound use and vocalisations. I most enjoyed the chapters about the ocean’s other occupants since they cover science that doesn’t usually get much fanfare outside academia, but is certainly fascinating.

The propagation of sound in the oceans and what (little) is known about marine animal hearing are well-explained, though a few more diagrams wouldn’t have gone amiss to explain some of the concepts - sometimes it is easier to understand something visually. Likewise, some photos of the various species mentioned would have been a nice inclusion (yes, it’s easy to Google, but I don’t want to pick up my phone whilst reading). But honestly, I am nit-picking.

An interesting and accessible overview of biological sound in the ocean, including some of the latest discoveries around this overlooked dimension of the marine environment - worth reading for those with an interest in marine science of course, but also anybody who spends time in and around the ocean.

Gifted by the publisher