The Sound of Species
Six animal classes, six instruments, one chord. As the Living Planet Index falls since 1970, each instrument grows quieter — the sound thins out where life has thinned out. All notes sit in a D minor pentatonic so the loss never feels random, only smaller.
Four moments on the way down.
- 1970
1970 — baseline.
The Living Planet Index sets 1970 as zero point. Not because that year was untouched — but because the data before is too sparse to be honest about. Every class begins here at 100%.
- 1992
1992 — Rio.
The Convention on Biological Diversity is signed in Rio de Janeiro. 168 states promise to protect what is left. The index has already dropped by a quarter on average; freshwater fish are at 60% of the baseline. The chord still sounds, but quieter.
- 2010
2010 — insect alarm.
Studies from Germany, the Netherlands and Britain report insect biomass collapses of 75% over 27 years. The high frequencies in the chord — what you hear top right — get thinner first. Birds and mammals follow.
- 2025
Today.
The 2024 Living Planet Report puts the global decline at 73% across all monitored populations since 1970. Freshwater fish at 16% of baseline. Insects somewhere around 20%. The chord is hollow at the top and bottom — only the middle still holds.