Smith
Adam B.
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Investigation on acoustic reception pathways in finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaorientalis sunameri) with insight into an alternative pathway
Smith
Adam B.
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Preprint
Sound transmission and reception are both vital components to odontocete echolocation
and daily life. Here, we combine computed tomography (CT) scanning and Finite
Element Modeling to investigate the acoustic propagation of finless porpoise
(Neophocaena asiaorientalis sunameri) echolocation pulses. The CT scanning and
FEM wave propagation model results support the well-accepted jaw-hearing pathway
hypothesis and suggest an additional alternative auditory pathway composed of
structures, mandible (lower jaw) and internal mandibular fat, with different acoustic
impedances, which may also conduct sounds to the ear complexes. The internal
mandibular fat is attached to the ear complex and encased by the mandibles laterally
and anteriorly. The simulations show signals in this pathway initially propagate along
the solid mandibles and are transmitted to the acoustically coupled soft tissue of the
internal mandibular fat which conducts the stimuli posteriorly as it eventually arrives
at ear complexes. While supporting traditional theories, this new bone-tissue-conduction pathway might be meaningful to understand the hearing and sound
reception processes in a wide variety of odontocetes species.