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Echo

Echo

The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...

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Dolphin "packet" use during long-range echolocation tasks.

James J Finneran¹

¹United States Navy Marine Mammal Program, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, Code 71510, 53560 Hull Street, San Diego, California 92152, USA.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

|March 8, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Dolphins use click packets for long-range echolocation, especially when echoes are delayed. This behavior appears linked to target range rather than echo strength, aiding their navigation.

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Area of Science:

Marine biology
Bioacoustics
Animal behavior

Background:

Dolphins typically echolocate using single clicks followed by echo reception.
Long-range echolocation may involve click packets, but the reasons are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate the function of click packet use in bottlenose dolphin echolocation.
Determine factors influencing packet usage during long-range tasks.

Main Methods:

Trained bottlenose dolphins performed long-range echolocation tasks with "phantom" echoes.
Phantom echoes were created by manipulating outgoing clicks and broadcasting delayed, scaled versions.
Dolphins reported the presence or change of phantom echoes across varying ranges (25–800 m).

Main Results:

Packet use was infrequent at ranges below 75 m.
Two dolphins increased packet production as range exceeded 75 m.
The third dolphin used high click repetition rates instead of packets.
Packet use correlated with echo delay (target range), not echo amplitude.

Conclusions:

Dolphin click packet use in echolocation is primarily influenced by target range and associated echo delay.
Individual variation exists, with some dolphins opting for high click rates over packets.
Findings provide insight into the adaptive strategies of dolphin echolocation.