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A whale better adjusts the biosonar to ordered rather than to random changes in the echo parameters
Alexander Ya Supin1, Paul E Nachtigall, Marlee Breese
1Institute of Ecology and Evolution, The Russian Academy of Sciences, 33 Leninsky Prospekt, 11971, Moscow, Russia. alex_supin@mail.ru
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|September 18, 2012
Summary
False killer whales adjust biosonar output based on echo characteristics. Prior echo information enhances their ability to fine-tune both transmitting and receiving functions for better echolocation.
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Bioacoustics
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) use echolocation for navigation and foraging.
- Understanding how these cetaceans process echo information is crucial for deciphering their biosonar capabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the adjustments made by false killer whale biosonar in response to varying echo parameters.
- To compare the effects of random versus ordered echo presentations on biosonar adjustments.
Main Methods:
- Recording sonar clicks and auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) from false killer whales during echolocation.
- Utilizing simulated echoes with manipulated echo delay and transfer factor in two experimental series: random and ordered presentations.
- Analyzing changes in click level and AEPs in relation to echo characteristics.
Main Results:
- Mean click level decreased with shorter echo delays and higher transfer factors, with more pronounced changes in ordered presentations.
- Auditory evoked potentials to self-emitted clicks decreased with shorter delays and increased echo levels.
- Auditory evoked potentials to echoes increased with echo level, showing greater dependence on echo delay in ordered presentations.
Conclusions:
- False killer whales can adjust their biosonar without prior echo information, but prior knowledge enhances their adaptive capabilities.
- Prior information about echo parameters allows for more sophisticated adjustments in both the transmitting and receiving components of their biosonar.
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