Electroreception in the Guiana dolphin (<i>Sotalia guianensis</i>)

Czech-Damal, Nicole U.; Liebschner, Alexander; Miersch, Lars; Klauer, Gertrud; Hanke, Frederike D.; Marshall, Christopher D.; Dehnhardt, Guido; Hanke, Wolf

doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.1127

Cited by 136 publications

(118 citation statements)

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“…The new rorqual morphology described here provides yet another example of how aquatic 25 and marine mammals 26 have evolved unique sensory systems to navigate, communicate and feed in the water 27 . Mechanoreceptors embedded within fibrous mandibular symphyses have been observed in other terrestrial mammals 28 , but rorquals alone possess clear mechanoreceptors suspended within a gel-like cavity between a completely unfused symphysis.…”

Section: Letter Researchmentioning

confidence: 95%

Discovery of a sensory organ that coordinates lunge feeding in rorqual whales

Pyenson

Goldbogen

Vogl

et al. 2012

Nature

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Top ocean predators have evolved multiple solutions to the challenges of feeding in the water [1][2][3] . At the largest scale, rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae) engulf and filter prey-laden water by lunge feeding 4 , a strategy that is unique among vertebrates 1 . Lunge feeding is facilitated by several morphological specializations, including bilaterally separate jaws that loosely articulate with the skull 5,6 , hyper-expandable throat pleats, or ventral groove blubber 7 , and a rigid y-shaped fibrocartilage structure branching from the chin into the ventral groove blubber 8 . The linkages and functional coordination among these features, however, remain poorly understood. Here we report the discovery of a sensory organ embedded within the fibrous symphysis between the unfused jaws that is present in several rorqual species, at both fetal and adult stages. Vascular and nervous tissue derived from the ancestral, anterior-most tooth socket insert into this organ, which contains connective tissue and papillae suspended in a gel-like matrix. These papillae show the hallmarks of a mechanoreceptor, containing nerves and encapsulated nerve termini. Histological, anatomical and kinematic evidence indicate that this sensory organ responds to both the dynamic rotation of the jaws during mouth opening and closure, and ventral groove blubber 7 expansion through direct mechanical linkage with the y-shaped fibrocartilage structure. Along with vibrissae on the chin 9 , providing tactile prey sensation, this organ provides the necessary input to the brain for coordinating the initiation, modulation and end stages of engulfment, a paradigm that is consistent with unsteady hydrodynamic models and tag data from lunge-feeding rorquals [10][11][12][13] . Despite the antiquity of unfused jaws in baleen whales since the late Oligocene 14 ( 23-28 million years ago), this organ represents an evolutionary novelty for rorquals, based on its absence in all other lineages of extant baleen whales. This innovation has a fundamental role in one of the most extreme feeding methods in aquatic vertebrates, which facilitated the evolution of the largest vertebrates ever.Large marine suspension feeders have evolved many times over the past 200 million years (Myr) 1-3 . These vertebrates, which include extinct bony fish, chondrichthyans and baleen whales (Mysticeti), all show similar morphological specializations for feeding in water while maintaining large body sizes 2,3 . For those vertebrates with solely aquatic ancestries, such as bony fish and chondrichthyans, feeding modes mostly consist of variations on unidirectional ram filter feeding, using gill rakers 1 . By contrast, baleen whales are secondarily adapted to marine environments from a terrestrial ancestry 3 . Their feeding specializations thus reflect a trade-off between evolutionary innovations (for example, baleen) and fundamental constraints from a mammalian body plan (such as air breathing) 3 . The origin of suspension feeding in mysticetes represents an evolutionary novelty with no ...

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Section: Letter Researchmentioning

confidence: 95%

Discovery of a sensory organ that coordinates lunge feeding in rorqual whales

Pyenson

Goldbogen

Vogl

et al. 2012

Nature

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“…The dolphin has been found to be sensitive to weak electric currents, such as those emitted by the muscles of prey fish buried in the sediment (Czech-Damal et al, 2012). The electroreceptors are probably situated within the hairless vibrissal crypts on the rostrum (Czech-Damal et al, 2013).…”

Section: Behavioral Data On Electroreceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In active electroreception, the animal itself generates an electric field and senses distortion of this field from objects of varying conductivity present in its habitat; for example, in electric eels (Electrophorus electricus; Souza et al, 2007). In passive electroreception, the animal perceives electric fields generated by an object that is located in close vicinity (Czech-Damal et al, 2012); for example, prey detection by elasmobranchs (Kalmijn, 1971) that possess electroreceptors called ampullae of Lorenzini (Murray, 1960).…”

Section: Electroreception Current Knowledge On Electroreceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory Perception in Cetaceans: Part I—Current Knowledge about Dolphin Senses As a Representative Species

et al. 2016

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A large part of the literature on sensory perception and behavior in dolphins is devoted to its well-developed vocal and echolocation abilities. In this review, we aim to augment current knowledge by examining the literature on dolphins' entire "Merkwelt" (which refers to everything a subject perceives, creating a crucial part of the subject's Umwelt). We will show that despite extensive knowledge on audition, aspects such as context relatedness, the social function of vocalizations or socio-sexual recognition, remain poorly understood. Therefore, we propose areas for further lines of investigation. Recent studies have shown that the sensory world of dolphins might well be much more diverse than initially thought. Indeed, although underwater and aerial visual systems differ in dolphins, they have both been shown to be important. Much debated electro-and magnetoreception appear to be functional senses according to recent studies. Finally, another neglected area is chemoreception. We will summarize neuroanatomical and physiological data on olfaction and taste, as well as corresponding behavioral evidence. Taken together, we will identify a number of technical and conceptual reasons for why chemosensory data appear contradictory, which is much debated in the literature. In summary, this article aims to provide both an overview of the current knowledge on dolphin perception, but also offer a basis for further discussion and potential new lines of research.Keywords: cetaceans, Delphinidae, Tursiops truncatus, audition, vision, electroreception, magnetoreception, chemoreception DOLPHIN'S UMWELT Sensory perception is essential for the survival of organisms, be it for the detection of (un)favorable physical conditions, the presence/absence of food or predators, the detection of communication signals or the recognition of social partners. It is crucial for any species to perceive regularities and changes in the properties of their abiotic and biotic environment.

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“…A recent discovery is the electrical sense of certain dolphins (Czech-Damal et al 2012). According to both anatomical and behavioural studies, the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) can detect electrical fields of a strength produced by typical benthic prey fish.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%