title: Detection of hydrodynamic stimuli by the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris).
abstract: Florida manatees inhabit the coastal and inland waters of the peninsular state. They have little difficulty navigating the turbid waterways, which often contain obstacles that they must circumnavigate. Anatomical and behavioral research suggests that the vibrissae and associated follicle-sinus complexes that manatees possess over their entire body form a sensory array system for detecting hydrodynamic stimuli analogous to the lateral line system of fish. This is consistent with data highlighting that manatees are tactile specialists, evidenced by their specialized facial morphology and use of their vibrissae during feeding and active investigation/manipulation of objects. Two Florida manatees were tested in a go/no-go procedure using a staircase method to assess their ability to detect low-frequency water movement. Hydrodynamic vibrations were created by a sinusoidally oscillating sphere that generated a dipole field at frequencies from 5 to 150 Hz, which are below the apparent functional hearing limit of the manatee. The manatees detected particle displacement of less than 1 μm for frequencies of 15-150 Hz and of less than a nanometer at 150 Hz. Restricting the facial vibrissae with various size mesh openings indicated that the specialized sensory hairs played an important role in the manatee's exquisite tactile sensitivity.
authors: Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Sarasota, FL 34236, USA. jgaspard@mote.org
authors: Joseph C
authors: JC
authors: Gaspard
authors: Gordon B
authors: GB
authors: Bauer
authors: Roger L
authors: RL
authors: Reep
authors: Kimberly
authors: K
authors: Dziuk
authors: Latoshia
authors: L
authors: Read
authors: David A
authors: DA
authors: Mann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D017753:Ecosystem; D006801:Humans; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D008297:Male; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011312:Pressure; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological; D014110:Touch; D055698:Touch Perception; D020457:Trichechus manatus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014732:Vibration; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D014872:Water Movements
references: J Neurophysiol. 1982 Jun;47(6):1043-56
references: 7108570
references: J Comp Physiol A. 1994 Dec;175(6):791-800
references: 7807420
references: Anat Rec A Discov Mol Cell Evol Biol. 2006 Jan;288(1):13-25
references: 16342212
references: J Comp Neurol. 1997 Aug 25;385(2):149-84
references: 9268122
references: J Physiol Paris. 2002 Sep-Dec;96(5-6):341-54
references: 14692483
references: J Exp Biol. 2007 Mar;210(Pt 5):781-7
references: 17297138
references: Am J Psychol. 1962 Sep;75:485-91
references: 13881416
references: Brain Behav Evol. 2003;62(3):141-51
references: 12966188
references: Brain Behav Evol. 2001;58(1):1-14
references: 11799274
references: Brain Behav Evol. 1989;34(6):365-86
references: 2611642
references: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2005 Oct;191(10):903-8
references: 16001184
references: J Neurophysiol. 1975 May;38(3):650-62
references: 1127461
references: Brain Behav Evol. 2002;59(3):141-54
references: 12119533
references: Biol Bull. 1994 Oct;187(2):258-9
references: 7811811
references: J Comp Physiol A. 1990 Sep;167(4):557-67
references: 2277359
references: Brain Behav Evol. 1995;45(1):1-18
references: 7866767
references: Science. 2001 Jul 6;293(5527):102-4
references: 11441183
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jan 17;109(3):971-6
references: 22219358
references: J Exp Biol. 1995 Nov;198(Pt 11):2317-23
references: 7490570
references: J Exp Biol. 2010 Aug 1;213(Pt 15):2665-72
references: 20639428
references: J Acoust Soc Am. 1999 Jun;105(6):3575-83
references: 10380675
references: J Exp Biol. 2012 May 1;215(Pt 9):1442-7
references: 22496279
references: J Comp Neurol. 1999 Sep 6;411(4):550-62
references: 10421867
references: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2011 Feb;197(2):141-51
references: 20959994
references: Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2012 Jan;295(1):177-86
references: 21964938
references: J Exp Biol. 2009 Jul;212(Pt 13):2105-12
references: 19525437
references: J Comp Physiol A. 1996 Aug;179(2):227-33
references: 8765559
references: J Comp Neurol. 2007 Sep 20;504(3):217-37
references: 17640045
references: Science. 1984 Aug 31;225(4665):951-4
references: 6474161
references: J Comp Neurol. 1986 Oct 8;252(2):154-74
references: 3782505
references: J Comp Neurol. 1997 Oct 20;387(2):215-33
references: 9336224
references: J Comp Neurol. 2002 Jul 22;449(2):103-19
references: 12115682