Data to: Understanding acoustic indices as multi-taxa biodiversity and habitat quality indicators

Acoustic indices are increasingly used to analyse obtained recordings, but studies show inconsistent performance of acoustic indices as biodiversity indicators. Here, we develop a conceptual framework on what acoustic indices reflect, including sound sources as well as their direct and indirect drivers.

We evaluate our framework using recordings from six land use types and old growth forest sites in north-eastern Madagascar. We found the highest correlation (adj. R² > 0.51) of Acoustic Diversity Index and Acoustic Entropy with endemic multi-taxa species richness, canopy closure, and vegetation density.