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Directional Hearing and Sound Source Localization in Fishes
Joseph A Sisneros1,2, Peter H Rogers3
1Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. sisneros@uw.edu.
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|October 31, 2015
Summary
Fish sound source localization remains poorly understood, unlike in other vertebrates. This review examines fish directional hearing and introduces a new time-averaged intensity model for sound localization applicable across diverse conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroethology
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Acoustic Signal Processing
Background:
- Sound source localization is a conserved ability across vertebrates, yet its mechanisms in fish are unclear.
- Decades of research on fish directional hearing and sound localization have yielded contradictory and obscure findings.
- The plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) serves as a key model organism for investigating fish sound localization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing behavioral research on directional hearing and sound source localization in fish.
- To explore the computational strategies fish may employ for sound localization.
- To introduce and discuss a novel theoretical model for fish sound localization.
Main Methods:
- Review of empirical behavioral studies on fish sound localization.
- Analysis of theoretical models of directional hearing in fish.
- Presentation of a new time-averaged intensity model for sound source localization.
Main Results:
- Existing behavioral data on fish sound localization is extensive but often contradictory.
- The plainfin midshipman fish offers unique insights into fish auditory processing.
- A new time-averaged intensity model provides a potentially unifying framework for fish sound localization.
Conclusions:
- Understanding fish sound localization requires integrating behavioral data with theoretical models.
- The proposed time-averaged intensity model offers a promising approach for explaining sound localization in fish.
- Further research is needed to validate theoretical models with empirical data across various fish species and acoustic environments.
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