Vibrational signals: Sounds transmitted through solids

Sound - A mechanical disturbance of a medium perceived by an organism - encompasses a bewildering variety of forms of communication and sensation. One of the more exotic, for the human worldview, is sound transmitted through solid substrates on which organisms stand, such as the ground or the stems and leaves of plants. Perception of substrate-borne sounds is widespread among animals, and many groups have evolved to use them in a huge variety of contexts and functions. Research on this modality of sensation and communication is revealing surprising capabilities for signal processing and cognition in animals large and small, social and solitary.