Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hearing And Echolocation In Stranded And Captive Odontocete Cetaceans, Danielle Greenhow

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Odontocetes use echolocation to detect, track, and discriminate their prey, as well as negotiate their environment. Their hearing abilities match the frequency of greatest sensitivity to the higher frequencies used for foraging and navigation. Hearing and echolocation together provide odontocetes with a highly developed biosonar system. This dissertation examines the hearing ability of several odontocete species to understand what signals they can perceive during echolocation. The variability in hearing ranges between species is examined in the context of phylogenetic and ecological differences among taxa. An autonomous hydrophone array is also developed that could be used in an expanded form in …