Epilogue to the Conference on The Evolutionary Biology of Hearing

Abstract

opened the final half-day discussion by suggesting that we focus on the Evolutionary Biology of Hearing, rather than of the ear. To do this it was first necessary to reach consensus on the definition of "hearing:' During the course of the conference it had become obvious that "hear-ing" means different things to different investigators in different contexts. For instance, is hearing the detection of far-field (pressure) waves only, or does it also include detection of near-field particle and bulk movement? Does it include vibration detection? Where does detection of "vibration" end and "hearing" begin? Does hearing require an ear, or simply a vibration-sensitive organ? It also became clear that these questions have importance beyond mere semantics if we are to understand and meaningfully discuss the evolutionary phenomena having to do with hearing.