A field study of auditory sensitivity of the Atlantic puffin, Fratercula arctica

Abstract

Hearing is vital for birds as they rely on acoustic communication with parents, mates, chicks and conspecifics. Amphibious seabirds face many ecological pressures, having to sense cues in air and underwater. Natural noise conditions have helped shape this sensory modality but anthropogenic noise is increasingly impacting seabirds. Surprisingly little is known about their hearing, despite their imperiled status. Understanding sound sensitivity is vital when we seek to manage the impacts of man-made noise. We measured the auditory sensitivity of nine wild Atlantic puffins, Fratercula arctica, in a capture-and-release setting in an effort to define their audiogram and compare these data with the hearing of other birds and natural rookery noise. Auditory sensitivity was tested using auditory evoked potential (AEP) methods. Responses were detected from 0.5 to 6 kHz. Mean thresholds were below 40 dB re. 20 µPa from 0.75 to 3 kHz, indicating that these were the most sensitive auditory frequencies, similar to other seabirds. Thresholds in the ‘middle’ frequency range 1–2.5 kHz were often down to 10–20 dB re. 20 µPa. The lowest thresholds were typically at 2.5 kHz. These are the first in-air auditory sensitivity data from multiple wild-caught individuals of a deep-diving alcid seabird. The audiogram was comparable to that of other birds of similar size, thereby indicating that puffins have fully functioning aerial hearing despite the constraints of their deep-diving, amphibious lifestyles. There was some variation in thresholds, yet animals generally had sensitive ears, suggesting aerial hearing is an important sensory modality for this taxon.

Aerial hearing thresholds and ecoacoustics of a threatened pursuit-diving seabird, the marbled murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus

“…Piatt & Nettleship 1985, Burger & Simpson 1986, Bonnet-Lebrun et al 2021 and having high degrees of structural modification to the middle ear (Zeyl et al 2022). Thus, the marbled murrelet audiograms here further suggest that auditory adaptations for baroprotection during deep diving have not led to noticeably reduced aerial hearing sensitivity in studied alcids (Mooney et al 2020).…”

“…These AEP methods have been applied to birds in the laboratory (Brittan-Powell et al 2002) and used for other taxa (often odontocetes) in the field for nearly 2 decades. However, field AEP methods have only recently been applied to wild birds, provided they can be safely caught, sedated, tested and released (Mooney et al 2019a(Mooney et al , 2020. While such studies are not trivial, particularly in regards to sedation, they are nonetheless a minimally invasive method for auditory measurements with individuals of untested species that can be successfully released within several hours of capture.…”

A path forward in the investigation of seabird strandings attributed to light attraction

“…Calls produced by procellariiforms range in frequency from 0 to 10 kHz, with many species producing the highest amplitudes in the 0–1 kHz range (Curé et al, 2012; Curé et al, 2016; James, 1984; Totterman, 2014). Similarly, Atlantic puffin hearing is most sensitive to frequencies of 0.75–3 kHz (Mooney et al, 2020). The majority of noise from internal combustion (e.g., gasoline) generators is 0–1 kHz in frequency (Cuesta & Cobo, 2000), putting it well within hearing range for these taxa.…”

“…Importantly, we also need a better understanding of the sensory capabilities of the affected species. This could be achieved in part by continuing to examine and characterize the various (not only visual) sensory organs of the species affected by stranding (e.g., Atchoi et al, 2020; Hart, 2004; Mitkus et al, 2016; Mitkus et al, 2018) and experimentally measure their physiological and neurological responses to stimuli of interest (e.g., Baden & Osorio, 2019; Mooney et al, 2020; Nevitt & Bonadonna, 2005).…”

Long distance calls: negligible information loss of seabird social vocalisations over propagation down to the hearing threshold

“…across species, namely down to 10-20 dB re 20 µPa in the 1-2.5 kHz frequency range for the Atlantic puffin(Mooney et al 2020), down to 13 dB re 20 µPa in the 1-3.5 kHz range in the common murre (Uria aalge;Smith et al 2023a), and down to 17 dB re 20 µPa in the 1-3.5 kHz range for the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus;Smith et al 2023b). We chose 1000 m as the maximum propagation distance, with calculated ASPL at this distance roughly corresponding to the minimum physiological hearing threshold (i.e.…”