111.2 Vibration Communication in Vertebrates
Peter M. Narins
Department of Physiological Science, UCLA, PO Box 160606, Los Angeles,
California 90095-1606, USA
Abstract
In this chapter I shall attempt to explore the ways in which several vertebrate
groups utilize vibrational or seismic signals. Specifically, I hope to encourage the
study of animals other than those used in the standard mammalian preparations by
emphasizing that an animal's natural acoustic behavior often leads to insights
concerning the underlying physiological mechanisms. Applied across a wide range
o(taxa, this neuroethological approach has yielded a great deal of information
about vertebrate behaviors including bat echolocation, sound localization by owls,
electrolocation and object avoidance in electric fishes, song learning in passerine
birds, and frog acoustic and vibrational communication. Among the vertebrates,
strong evidence for seismic signal detection and/or communication has been
documented for only a handful of cases. These animals appear to rely on surface
(Rayleigh) waves to transmit vibrational signals. In Leptodactylus and perhaps in
Crotalus, the apparatus for detecting these signals resides both in the sensory
epithelium of the inner ear and in its associated sensory structures and appears to
take advantage of the multimodal response properties of the sensory hair cells.
Methods used to explore these responses and new behavioral evidence for seismic
cue detection in several animal groups are discussed.
Key words Amphibian, mammal, seismic, hearing, inner ear
1 Introduction
Some animals possess sensory capacities so fundamentally different from our own
that it is especially intriguing to imagine how they must perceive the world. An
electric fish in a muddy river navigates, avoids obstacles, and recognizes kin by
small perturbations in the local electric field surrounding its body; a horseshoe bat
determines the character of its potential prey by analyzing the ultrasonic
echolocation pulses reflected by the flapping wings of a passing insect; a pigeon in
eastern United States, in theory, can hear the infrasound produced by wind
streaming over the Rocky Mountains in the west, and presumably use this cue for
orientation on its homeward flight; the sunfish can detect the plane of polarized
light reflected from otherwise camouflaged prey. These and many other cases
Peter M. Narins
Department of Physiological Science, UCLA, PO Box 160606, Los Angeles,
California 90095-1606, USA
Abstract
In this chapter I shall attempt to explore the ways in which several vertebrate
groups utilize vibrational or seismic signals. Specifically, I hope to encourage the
study of animals other than those used in the standard mammalian preparations by
emphasizing that an animal's natural acoustic behavior often leads to insights
concerning the underlying physiological mechanisms. Applied across a wide range
o(taxa, this neuroethological approach has yielded a great deal of information
about vertebrate behaviors including bat echolocation, sound localization by owls,
electrolocation and object avoidance in electric fishes, song learning in passerine
birds, and frog acoustic and vibrational communication. Among the vertebrates,
strong evidence for seismic signal detection and/or communication has been
documented for only a handful of cases. These animals appear to rely on surface
(Rayleigh) waves to transmit vibrational signals. In Leptodactylus and perhaps in
Crotalus, the apparatus for detecting these signals resides both in the sensory
epithelium of the inner ear and in its associated sensory structures and appears to
take advantage of the multimodal response properties of the sensory hair cells.
Methods used to explore these responses and new behavioral evidence for seismic
cue detection in several animal groups are discussed.
Key words Amphibian, mammal, seismic, hearing, inner ear
1 Introduction
Some animals possess sensory capacities so fundamentally different from our own
that it is especially intriguing to imagine how they must perceive the world. An
electric fish in a muddy river navigates, avoids obstacles, and recognizes kin by
small perturbations in the local electric field surrounding its body; a horseshoe bat
determines the character of its potential prey by analyzing the ultrasonic
echolocation pulses reflected by the flapping wings of a passing insect; a pigeon in
eastern United States, in theory, can hear the infrasound produced by wind
streaming over the Rocky Mountains in the west, and presumably use this cue for
orientation on its homeward flight; the sunfish can detect the plane of polarized
light reflected from otherwise camouflaged prey. These and many other cases