Marine mammal sensory systems: Special issue overview

Abstract

Marine mammals are a unique group of organisms that are secondarily adapted to the aquatic environment. Their specific lifestyle requires numerous adaptations of anatomy and physiology in general, and sensory physiology in particular. During the course of evolution, marine mammal senses changed to fit with the specific requirements of underwater sensing, while at the same time retaining aerial sensing to various degrees. In this special issue, state of the art science in the field of marine mammal sensory research is reported for representatives of all marine mammal groups, unfortunately with the exclusion of the polar bear. The articles focus on somatosensation of the glabrous skin of cetaceans and mechanoreception, including haptics, hydrodynamics, and acoustics, to chemoreception. Articles even deal with electroreception, highlighting that the bottlenose dolphin can perceive weak electric stimuli, and vision, indicating that harbor seals are able to derive temporal information from an optical stimulus. Altogether this special issue illustrates the diversity of research in the field regarding sensory systems, species, or experimental approaches. The strength of this special issue lies in the combination of carefully conducted anatomical studies paired with observations and behavioral studies attempting to relate "form" and "function" as well as in the many impulses and future avenues mentioned by numerous contributions.