The hearing sensitivity of 18 free-ranging and 10 captive harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) to aerial sounds was measured in the presence of typical environmental noise through auditory brainstem response measurements. A focus was put on the comparative hearing sensitivity at low frequencies. Low- and mid-frequency thresholds appeared to be elevated in both captive and free-ranging seals, but this is likely due to masking effects and limitations of the methodology used. The data also showed individual variability in hearing sensitivity with probable age-related hearing loss found in two old harbour seals. These results suggest that the acoustic sensitivity of free-ranging animals was not negatively affected by the soundscape they experienced in the wild.
CITATION STYLE
Lucke, K., Hastie, G. D., Ternes, K., McConnell, B., Moss, S., Russell, D. J. F., … Janik, V. M. (2016). Aerial low-frequency hearing in captive and free-ranging harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) measured using auditory brainstem responses. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, 202(12), 859–868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-016-1126-8
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