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© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
J.A. Sisneros (ed.), Fish Hearing and Bioacoustics, Advances in Experimental
Medicine and Biology 877, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21059-9_7
Directional Hearing and Sound Source
Localization in Fishes
Joseph A. Sisneros and Peter H. Rogers
Abstract Evidence suggests that the capacity for sound source localization is
common to mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but surprisingly it is not
known whether fish locate sound sources in the same manner (e.g., combining binaural and monaural cues) or what computational strategies they use for successful
source localization. Directional hearing and sound source localization in fishes continues to be important topics in neuroethology and in the hearing sciences, but the
empirical and theoretical work on these topics have been contradictory and obscure
for decades. This chapter reviews the previous behavioral work on directional hearing and sound source localization in fishes including the most recent experiments on
sound source localization by the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus),
which has proven to be an exceptional species for fish studies of sound localization.
In addition, the theoretical models of directional hearing and sound source localization for fishes are reviewed including a new model that uses a time-averaged intensity approach for source localization that has wide applicability with regard to
source type, acoustic environment, and time waveform.
Keywords Particle motion • Sound pressure • Inner ear • Phonotaxis • Hair cell
1 Introduction
The underwater acoustic environment consists of dynamic and complex soundscapes where animals must be able to behave appropriately toward all objects and
events in order to survive and reproduce. Part of this requirement for appropriate
J.A. Sisneros (*)
Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
e-mail: sisneros@uw.edu
P.H. Rogers
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
J.A. Sisneros (ed.), Fish Hearing and Bioacoustics, Advances in Experimental
Medicine and Biology 877, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21059-9_7
Directional Hearing and Sound Source
Localization in Fishes
Joseph A. Sisneros and Peter H. Rogers
Abstract Evidence suggests that the capacity for sound source localization is
common to mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but surprisingly it is not
known whether fish locate sound sources in the same manner (e.g., combining binaural and monaural cues) or what computational strategies they use for successful
source localization. Directional hearing and sound source localization in fishes continues to be important topics in neuroethology and in the hearing sciences, but the
empirical and theoretical work on these topics have been contradictory and obscure
for decades. This chapter reviews the previous behavioral work on directional hearing and sound source localization in fishes including the most recent experiments on
sound source localization by the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus),
which has proven to be an exceptional species for fish studies of sound localization.
In addition, the theoretical models of directional hearing and sound source localization for fishes are reviewed including a new model that uses a time-averaged intensity approach for source localization that has wide applicability with regard to
source type, acoustic environment, and time waveform.
Keywords Particle motion • Sound pressure • Inner ear • Phonotaxis • Hair cell
1 Introduction
The underwater acoustic environment consists of dynamic and complex soundscapes where animals must be able to behave appropriately toward all objects and
events in order to survive and reproduce. Part of this requirement for appropriate
J.A. Sisneros (*)
Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
e-mail: sisneros@uw.edu
P.H. Rogers
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA 30332, USA