Abstract
The hearing thresholds of the nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, and the yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis, were measured using auditory evoked potentials (AEP). Stimuli were calibrated using a pressure-velocity probe so that the acoustic field could be completely characterized. The results show similar hearing thresholds for both species and similar hearing thresholds to previously measured audiograms for the lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris, and the horn shark, Heterodontis francisi. All of these audiograms suggest poor hearing abilities, raising questions about field studies showing attraction of sharks to acoustic signals. By extrapolating the particle acceleration thresholds into estimates of their equivalent far-field sound pressure levels, it appears that these sharks cannot likely detect most of the sounds that have attracted sharks in the field.
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Acknowledgements
This research was conducted at the Florida Institute of Oceanographyȁ9s Keys Marine Lab (KML). We would like to thank Lonny Anderson and KML staff for assistance in collecting specimens and providing care for the animals. Thanks to James McConnell and Acoustech Corporation for the usage of the pressure/velocity probe. These experiments were covered under approved IACUC protocol #2118 from the University of South Florida and the Florida Institute of Oceanographyȁ9s Keys Marine Lab.
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Casper, B.M., Mann, D.A. Evoked Potential Audiograms of the Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) and the Yellow Stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis). Environ Biol Fish 76, 101–108 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9012-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9012-9