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Frequency Tuning of Hearing in the Beluga Whale
Evgeniya V Sysueva1, Dmitry I Nechaev2, Vladimir V Popov3
1Laboratory of Sensory Systems of Vertebrates, A. N. Severstov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, 33 Leninskiy prospekt, Moscow, 119071, Russia. evgeniasysueva@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Data on frequency tuning in odontocetes are contradictory: different authors have reported filter qualities from 2 to almost 50. In this study, frequency tuning was measured in a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) using a rippled-noise test stimulus in conjunction with the auditory evoked potential (AEP) technique. The response to ripple reversions was considered to indicate resolvability of the ripple pattern. The limit of ripple-pattern resolution ranged from 20 to 32 ripples per octave (rpo). A model of interaction of the ripple spectrum with frequency-tuned filters suggests that this resolution limit requires a filter quality of 29-46.
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