8 research outputs found
Hearing in cetaceans : from natural history to experimental biology
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Advances in Marine Biology 63, edited by Michael Lesser, :197-246. Academic Press (Elsevier), 2013. ISBN: 9780123942821. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-394282-1.00004-1Sound is the primary sensory cue for most marine mammals, and this is especially true for
cetaceans. To passively and actively acquire information about their environment, cetaceans
have perhaps the most derived ears of all mammals, capable of sophisticated, sensitive hearing
and auditory processing. These capabilities have developed for survival in an underwater world
where sound travels five times faster than in air, and where light is quickly attenuated and often
limited at depth, at night, and in murky waters. Cetacean auditory evolution has capitalized on
the ubiquity of sound cues and the efficiency of underwater acoustic communication. The sense
of hearing is central to cetacean sensory ecology, enabling vital behaviors such as locating prey,
detecting predators, identifying conspecifics, and navigating. Increasing levels of anthropogenic
ocean noise appears to influence many of these activities.
Here we describe the historical progress of investigations on cetacean hearing, with a
particular focus on odontocetes and recent advancements. While this broad topic has been
studied for several centuries, new technologies in the last two decades have been leveraged to
improve our understanding of a wide range of taxa, including some of the most elusive species.
This paper addresses topics including how sounds are received, what sounds are detected,
hearing mechanisms for complex acoustic scenes, recent anatomy and physiology studies, the
potential impacts of noise, and mysticete hearing. We conclude by identifying emerging
research topics and areas which require greater focus.In compiling this review, TAM was supported by the John E. and Anne W. Sawyer Endowed
Fund and the Penzance Endowed Fund