Founded in 1969 following early meetings in Denmark and the UK, the International Bioacoustics Society (formerly Council) was created to unite a fragmented field. For over half a century, IBAC has provided a collaborative platform for biologists, engineers, and sound recordists. From the era of analog tape to today’s machine learning, we have remained a guiding force in animal acoustic communication research. Our biennial conferences continue this proud heritage, bringing the global community together to advance the science of bioacoustics.
The International Bioacoustics Society has a rich history of promoting international co-operation in the recording, analysis, and archiving of wildlife sounds.
1967 / The Origins
While earlier attempts to unify the field—such as the American International Committee for Bioacoustics in 1956—struggled to maintain momentum, the true foundations of IBAC were laid in France. In July 1967, Jean-Claude and Helen Roché established the “Institute ECHO” (Enregistrements et Etudes des Chants et Cris d’Oiseaux). Governed by a small council of early pioneers, including E.D.H. Johnson (President), John Kirby, and Sten Wahlström, its ambitious objectives spanned the making of field recordings, musicological studies, and the mounting of international scientific expeditions.
By September 1969, it became clear that the purely scientific objectives required their own dedicated platform. The scientific activities of Institute ECHO were formally separated to form the new International Bioacoustics Council (IBAC), leaving the Institute to concentrate on issuing gramophone records. Firmly established at the Natural History Museum in Århus, Denmark, IBAC was born with a clear mission: to act as a central “referendum” for the scientific study of biological sounds. The society immediately set to work promoting international co-operation and developing crucial global standards for analytical measurement, descriptive terminology, and archival documentation.
A golden era of international communication began with the publication of the news bulletin Biophon. Generously supported by the Danish Rask-Ørsted and Natural Science Research Foundations, both IBAC membership and the publication itself were completely free. Biophon ran for 24 issues, successfully connecting a network of over 450 subscribers worldwide. When an economic downturn unfortunately terminated the Danish grant in 1983, this dedicated global network of subscribers became the essential sounding-board for planning its successor: the modern, peer-reviewed academic journal Bioacoustics, which was successfully launched in 1988.
Under the long-standing guidance of Patrick Sellar—who served as President from 1969 to 1996 and Honorary President until 2024—IBAC successfully navigated decades of technological change. In 1996, the society’s headquarters transferred from Århus to the Wildlife Section of the British Library Sound Archive in London. Today, IBAC proudly maintains its most vital founding policy: organising biennial conferences with a sufficiently informal atmosphere and inexpensive accommodation. This welcoming ethos is deliberately designed to attract young students, encouraging them to present their first papers and to foster the lively discussion of tentative ideas in their early stages of development.
France
Committee (1996-2017)
India
Committee (2019-2023)
India
Committee (2009-2019)
Denmark
President (1969-2005)
United Kingdom
France
Sweden
Committee (1969-1975)
Brazil
Committee (2003-2017)
Denmark
United States of America
Committee (1999-2003)
Slovenia
Committee (1997-2009); Chairman (2003-2009)
Canada
Committee (1969-1975)
Denmark
Jersey
Committee (1969-1996)
United Kingdom
Denmark
Chairman (2009-2017)
France
Committee (2009-2023); Chairman (2017-2023)
Germany
Committee (2009-2015)
United States of America
Committee (2007-2019)
Italy
Committee (1995-2003); Chairman (1996-2003)
United Kingdom
Committee, Secretary (1995-2007)
Italy
Committee (2019-2025)
United Kingdom
Committee (1969-1997); Chairman (1969-1996); Honorary President (2005-2024)
United States of America
The Netherlands
Committee (2017-2025)
United Kingdom
Committee (1969-1975)
Germany
Committee (2003-2009)
Sweden
Committee (1969-1999)
Denmark
United States of America
Committee (1997-2003)
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Promoting the international participation and scientific study of biological sounds since 1969. A registered non-profit organization dedicated to the multidisciplinary exchange of ideas.
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