Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements
Spotted seals ( Phoca largha ) inhabit Arctic regions that are facing both rapid climate change and increasing industrialization. While little is known about their sensory capabilities, available knowledge suggests that spotted seals and other ice seals use sound to obtain information from the surro...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:jexbio:217/5/726 2023-05-15T14:59:57+02:00 Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements Sills, Jillian M. Southall, Brandon L. Reichmuth, Colleen 2014-03-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/217/5/726 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.097469 en eng Company of Biologists http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/217/5/726 http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.097469 Copyright (C) 2014, Company of Biologists RESEARCH ARTICLES TEXT 2014 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.097469 2015-03-01T01:18:56Z Spotted seals ( Phoca largha ) inhabit Arctic regions that are facing both rapid climate change and increasing industrialization. While little is known about their sensory capabilities, available knowledge suggests that spotted seals and other ice seals use sound to obtain information from the surrounding environment. To quantitatively assess their auditory capabilities, the hearing of two young spotted seals was tested using a psychophysical paradigm. Absolute detection thresholds for tonal sounds were measured in air and under water over the frequency range of hearing, and critical ratios were determined using octave-band masking noise in both media. The behavioral audiograms show a range of best sensitivity spanning four octaves in air, from approximately 0.6 to 11 kHz. The range of sensitive hearing extends across seven octaves in water, with lowest thresholds between 0.3 and 56 kHz. Critical ratio measurements were similar in air and water and increased monotonically from 12 dB at 0.1 kHz to 30 dB at 25.6 kHz, indicating that the auditory systems of these seals are quite efficient at extracting signals from background noise. This study demonstrates that spotted seals possess sound reception capabilities different from those previously described for ice seals, and more similar to those reported for harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ). The results are consistent with the amphibious lifestyle of these seals and their apparent reliance on sound. The hearing data reported herein are the first available for spotted seals and can inform best management practices for this vulnerable species in a changing Arctic. Text Arctic Climate change Phoca vitulina HighWire Press (Stanford University) Arctic Journal of Experimental Biology 217 5 726 734 |
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RESEARCH ARTICLES |
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RESEARCH ARTICLES Sills, Jillian M. Southall, Brandon L. Reichmuth, Colleen Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements |
topic_facet |
RESEARCH ARTICLES |
description |
Spotted seals ( Phoca largha ) inhabit Arctic regions that are facing both rapid climate change and increasing industrialization. While little is known about their sensory capabilities, available knowledge suggests that spotted seals and other ice seals use sound to obtain information from the surrounding environment. To quantitatively assess their auditory capabilities, the hearing of two young spotted seals was tested using a psychophysical paradigm. Absolute detection thresholds for tonal sounds were measured in air and under water over the frequency range of hearing, and critical ratios were determined using octave-band masking noise in both media. The behavioral audiograms show a range of best sensitivity spanning four octaves in air, from approximately 0.6 to 11 kHz. The range of sensitive hearing extends across seven octaves in water, with lowest thresholds between 0.3 and 56 kHz. Critical ratio measurements were similar in air and water and increased monotonically from 12 dB at 0.1 kHz to 30 dB at 25.6 kHz, indicating that the auditory systems of these seals are quite efficient at extracting signals from background noise. This study demonstrates that spotted seals possess sound reception capabilities different from those previously described for ice seals, and more similar to those reported for harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ). The results are consistent with the amphibious lifestyle of these seals and their apparent reliance on sound. The hearing data reported herein are the first available for spotted seals and can inform best management practices for this vulnerable species in a changing Arctic. |
format |
Text |
author |
Sills, Jillian M. Southall, Brandon L. Reichmuth, Colleen |
author_facet |
Sills, Jillian M. Southall, Brandon L. Reichmuth, Colleen |
author_sort |
Sills, Jillian M. |
title |
Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements |
title_short |
Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements |
title_full |
Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements |
title_fullStr |
Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements |
title_full_unstemmed |
Amphibious hearing in spotted seals (Phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements |
title_sort |
amphibious hearing in spotted seals (phoca largha): underwater audiograms, aerial audiograms and critical ratio measurements |
publisher |
Company of Biologists |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/217/5/726 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.097469 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Phoca vitulina |
op_relation |
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/217/5/726 http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.097469 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2014, Company of Biologists |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.097469 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
217 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
726 |
op_container_end_page |
734 |
_version_ |
1766332070709166080 |