3
© 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_1
Fishy Hearing: A Short Biography of Arthur
N. Popper, PhD
Allison B. Coffi n
A. B. Coffi n (*)
Washington State University Vancouver , Vancouver , WA , USA
e-mail: Allison.coffi n@wsu.edu
Abstract Biologist Dr. Arthur Popper’s career spans decades, from his early work
on comparative inner ear morphology in fi shes to his recent interest in how underwater noise impacts aquatic vertebrates. Along the way Dr. Popper’s research subjects span at least 19 vertebrate taxa, from lamprey to lungfi sh to humans, and he’s
had a profound infl uence in the fi eld of fi sh bioacoustics. This brief biography
describes some of Dr. Popper’s many contributions to fi sh hearing research and
highlights both some of his major discoveries and some of the biological mysteries
he has yet to solve.
Keywords Fish • Bioacoustics • Hearing • Underwater sound • Sound localization
I joined Dr. Arthur Popper’s lab in 2000, an eager young graduate student interested
in studying sound source localization in fi shes. Art welcomed me with open arms
and a word of caution—sound localization was too hard a problem for a graduate
thesis, or at least it would take longer to solve than most students wished to spend
on their dissertations.
It turns out I wasn’t the fi rst graduate student enticed by the problem of how fi sh
localize a sound. In the late 1960s Art began graduate study with Dr. William
Tavolga at City College of the City University of New York. Art was interested in
studying fi sh hearing but didn’t know at fi rst what angle he wished to take. Dr.
Tavolga sent him home with a stack of papers to read, giving Art the freedom to
select his dissertation topic, and after perusing the literature Art arrived at the question of sound source localization. The story is best told in Art’s own words, “I suggested to Bill that I study sound localization, and his immediate response was that
it would take 17 years to complete a study, and I signed on (although I did not
believe it would take 17 years)… I won’t continue the story with localization other
than to say that Bill’s 17 years were way off; even today, we really don’t have a clear
understanding of the mechanisms and capabilities of fi shes for sound localization…” (Popper 2014 ).
© 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_1
Fishy Hearing: A Short Biography of Arthur
N. Popper, PhD
Allison B. Coffi n
A. B. Coffi n (*)
Washington State University Vancouver , Vancouver , WA , USA
e-mail: Allison.coffi n@wsu.edu
Abstract Biologist Dr. Arthur Popper’s career spans decades, from his early work
on comparative inner ear morphology in fi shes to his recent interest in how underwater noise impacts aquatic vertebrates. Along the way Dr. Popper’s research subjects span at least 19 vertebrate taxa, from lamprey to lungfi sh to humans, and he’s
had a profound infl uence in the fi eld of fi sh bioacoustics. This brief biography
describes some of Dr. Popper’s many contributions to fi sh hearing research and
highlights both some of his major discoveries and some of the biological mysteries
he has yet to solve.
Keywords Fish • Bioacoustics • Hearing • Underwater sound • Sound localization
I joined Dr. Arthur Popper’s lab in 2000, an eager young graduate student interested
in studying sound source localization in fi shes. Art welcomed me with open arms
and a word of caution—sound localization was too hard a problem for a graduate
thesis, or at least it would take longer to solve than most students wished to spend
on their dissertations.
It turns out I wasn’t the fi rst graduate student enticed by the problem of how fi sh
localize a sound. In the late 1960s Art began graduate study with Dr. William
Tavolga at City College of the City University of New York. Art was interested in
studying fi sh hearing but didn’t know at fi rst what angle he wished to take. Dr.
Tavolga sent him home with a stack of papers to read, giving Art the freedom to
select his dissertation topic, and after perusing the literature Art arrived at the question of sound source localization. The story is best told in Art’s own words, “I suggested to Bill that I study sound localization, and his immediate response was that
it would take 17 years to complete a study, and I signed on (although I did not
believe it would take 17 years)… I won’t continue the story with localization other
than to say that Bill’s 17 years were way off; even today, we really don’t have a clear
understanding of the mechanisms and capabilities of fi shes for sound localization…” (Popper 2014 ).