187
© 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_9
Hearing in Cavefi shes
Daphne Soares , Matthew L. Niemiller , and Dennis M. Higgs
Abstract Caves and associated subterranean habitats represent some of the harshest
environments on Earth, yet many organisms, including fi shes, have colonized and
thrive in these habitats despite the complete absence of light, and other abiotic and
biotic constraints. Over 170 species of fi shes are considered obligate subterranean
inhabitants (stygobionts) that exhibit some degree of troglomorphy, including
degeneration of eyes and reduction in pigmentation. To compensate for lack of
vision, many species have evolved constructive changes to non-visual sensory
modalities. In this chapter we review hearing in cavefi shes, with particular emphasize on our own studies on amblyopsid cavefi shes. Hearing in cavefi shes has not
been well studied to date, as hearing ability has only been examined in four species.
Two species show no differences in hearing ability relative to their surface relatives,
while the other two species (family Amblyopsidae) exhibit regression in the form
of reduced hearing range and reduction in hair cell densities on sensory epithelia.
In addition to reviewing our current knowledge on cavefi sh hearing, we offer
suggestions for future avenues of research on cavefi sh hearing and discuss the infl uence of Popper and Fay on the fi eld of cavefi sh bioacoustics.
Keywords Acoustic • Auditory • Evolution • Fish • Subterranean
1 Introduction
Caves have been shown to be rewarding environments for the study of ecology,
evolution, and speciation (Poulson and White 1969 ; Culver 1976 , 1982 ; Christman
and Culver 2001 ; Christman et al. 2005 ; Niemiller et al. 2008 ). Yet, subterranean
D. Soares (*)
Biological Sciences , New Jersey Institute of Technology , Newark , NJ 07102 , USA
e-mail: soares@NJIT.edu
M. L. Niemiller
Illinois Natural History Survey , University of Illinois , Champaign , IL 61820 , USA
D. M. Higgs
Biological Sciences , University of Windsor , Windsor , ON , Canada , N9B 3P4
© 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_9
Hearing in Cavefi shes
Daphne Soares , Matthew L. Niemiller , and Dennis M. Higgs
Abstract Caves and associated subterranean habitats represent some of the harshest
environments on Earth, yet many organisms, including fi shes, have colonized and
thrive in these habitats despite the complete absence of light, and other abiotic and
biotic constraints. Over 170 species of fi shes are considered obligate subterranean
inhabitants (stygobionts) that exhibit some degree of troglomorphy, including
degeneration of eyes and reduction in pigmentation. To compensate for lack of
vision, many species have evolved constructive changes to non-visual sensory
modalities. In this chapter we review hearing in cavefi shes, with particular emphasize on our own studies on amblyopsid cavefi shes. Hearing in cavefi shes has not
been well studied to date, as hearing ability has only been examined in four species.
Two species show no differences in hearing ability relative to their surface relatives,
while the other two species (family Amblyopsidae) exhibit regression in the form
of reduced hearing range and reduction in hair cell densities on sensory epithelia.
In addition to reviewing our current knowledge on cavefi sh hearing, we offer
suggestions for future avenues of research on cavefi sh hearing and discuss the infl uence of Popper and Fay on the fi eld of cavefi sh bioacoustics.
Keywords Acoustic • Auditory • Evolution • Fish • Subterranean
1 Introduction
Caves have been shown to be rewarding environments for the study of ecology,
evolution, and speciation (Poulson and White 1969 ; Culver 1976 , 1982 ; Christman
and Culver 2001 ; Christman et al. 2005 ; Niemiller et al. 2008 ). Yet, subterranean
D. Soares (*)
Biological Sciences , New Jersey Institute of Technology , Newark , NJ 07102 , USA
e-mail: soares@NJIT.edu
M. L. Niemiller
Illinois Natural History Survey , University of Illinois , Champaign , IL 61820 , USA
D. M. Higgs
Biological Sciences , University of Windsor , Windsor , ON , Canada , N9B 3P4