QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online March 16, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 1116-1122 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02734

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nachtigall, P. E. Articles by Yuen, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nachtigall, P. E. Articles by Yuen, M. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Polar bear Ursus maritimus hearing measured with auditory evoked potentials

Paul E. Nachtigall^1,*, Alexander Y. Supin², Mats Amundin³, Bengt Röken³, Thorsten Møller³, T. Aran Mooney¹, Kristen A. Taylor¹ and Michelle Yuen^1,4

¹ Marine Mammal Research Program, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, HI, USA
² Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
³ Kolmården Djurpark, Kolmården, Sweden
⁴ National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Regional Office, Honolulu, HI, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: nachtiga{at}hawaii.edu)

Accepted 25 January 2007

While there has been recent concern about the effects of sound on marine mammals, including polar bears, there are no data available measuring the hearing of any bear. The in-air hearing of three polar bears was measured using evoked auditory potentials obtained while tone pips were played to three individually anaesthetized bears at the Kolmården Djurpark. Hearing was tested in half-octave steps from 1 to 22.5 kHz. Measurements were not obtainable at 1 kHz and best sensitivity was found in the range from 11.2–22.5 kHz. Considering the tone pips were short and background noise measurements were available, absolute measurements were estimated based on an assumed mammalian integration time of 300 ms. These data show sensitive hearing in the polar bear over a wide frequency range and should cause those concerned with the introduction of anthropogenic noise into the polar bear's environment to operate with caution.

Key words: bear hearing, polar bear, evoked potential

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. E. Nachtigall and A. Y. Supin A false killer whale adjusts its hearing when it echolocates J. Exp. Biol., June 1, 2008; 211(11): 1714 - 1718. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]