Abstract
Fish represent the largest group of vertebrates and display the greatest diversity of auditory structures. However, studies addressing how the form and function of the auditory system change during development to enhance perception of the acoustic environment are rather sparse in this taxon compared to other vertebrate groups. An ontogenetic perspective of the auditory system in fishes provides a readily testable framework for understanding structure–function relationships. Additionally, studying ancestral models such as fish can convey valuable comparable information across vertebrates, as early developmental events are often evolutionary conserved. This chapter reviews the literature on the morphological development of the fish auditory system, with particular focus on the inner ear structures that evolve from an otic placode during early embryonic development and then continue to undergo differentiation and maturation in the postembryonic phase. Moreover, the chapter provides a systematic overview of how auditory sensitivity develops during ontogeny. Although most studies indicate a developmental improvement in auditory sensitivity, there is considerably species-specific variation. Lastly, the paucity of information and literature concerning the development of auditory capabilities for social communication in fishes is also discussed. Further investigation on the development of structure and function of the fish auditory system is recommended in order to obtain a deeper understanding of how ontogenetic morphological changes in the auditory pathway relate to modifications in acoustic reception, auditory processing, and the capacity to communicate acoustically.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Drs. Richard Fay and Arthur Popper for their guidance, mentorship and for being role models for young scientists in the field of fish hearing and bioacoustics. All three authors (ROV, PWA, and JAS) had the privileged opportunity to work with Dick Fay. They are very grateful for his patience and thoughtfulness as a mentor, and for his guidance and kindness over the years. ROV thanks Dick Fay for the opportunity to work in his laboratory at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), for his guidance during her Grass Fellowship working on directional and frequency sensitivity in the Lusitanian toadfish. ROV is grateful to both Dick Fay and Peggy Edds-Walton for being such an amazing team, for their inspirational work, constant support, and friendship. PWA has also been privileged to work with Dick Fay at the UC Bodega Marine Lab and has benefited greatly from the opportunity to discuss science and learning directly from him. PWA thanks Dick Fay for being such a benevolent teacher and masterful researcher, and for his availability to sit down and share his knowledge. JAS also had the privilege of working with Dick on a number of physiology and behavioral experiments since they first met at the MBL, during the Grass Fellowship of JAS.
All three of the authors would like to thank Art Popper for playing a major role in training virtually everyone active in the fish hearing research community. The extensive network of Popper’s Laboratory of Aquatic Bioacoustics alums has provided a great wealth of knowledge and personal assistance as we all have “learned the ropes” in the fish world.
Research conducted by ROV has been supported by FDCT, Macao (grant FDCT 019/2012/A1), and MCTES, Portugal (SFRH/BD/30491/2006). Research in the Sisneros Lab was supported by an NSF grant (IOS 0642214) and a Royal Research Fund grant to JAS and an NIH Auditory Neuroscience Training Fellowship (NIH NIDCD 2T32DC005361-06) to PWA.
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Vasconcelos, R.O., Alderks, P.W., Sisneros, J.A. (2016). Development of Structure and Sensitivity of the Fish Inner Ear. In: Sisneros, J. (eds) Fish Hearing and Bioacoustics. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 877. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21059-9_14
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