scholarly journals Bony Nares Air Pressure and Nasal Plug Muscle Activity during Click Production in the Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena Phocoena, and the Bottlenosed Dolphin, Tursiops Truncatus

1983 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. AMUNDIN ◽  
S. H. ANDERSEN
Keyword(s):  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Air Pressure ◽  
Maximum Pressure ◽  
Electromyographic Activity ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Bottlenosed Dolphin ◽  
Considerable Pressure ◽  
Production Mechanisms

Sound production mechanisms have been studied in two delphinid species - the harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena (L.), and the bottlenosed dolphin, Tursiops truncatus (Montagu). It was found that, in both species, the click sound production was coupled to a considerable pressure increase in the bony nares. The maximum pressure recorded in Phocoena was approximately 54 kPa and in Tursiops close to 81 kPa; it was equal in time and amplitude in both nares. The nasal plug muscle was found to be active up to 450 ms prior to and during sound production. Sound production without such activity was not seen. The results suggest that an identical mechanism underlies click production in both species, with pressurized air being the driving force and the nasal plug muscle having some active regulating function. Probes were inserted into the bony nares of three harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, and one bottlenosed dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, in order to record air pressure variations together with sound production. Sounds were picked up by a hydrophone manually held to the forehead of the animals. In several of the Phocoena recordings, electromyographic activity in the nasal plug muscle was also recorded.

scholarly journals Anisakis spp. induced granulomatous dermatitis in a harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena and a bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
SJ van Beurden ◽  
LL IJsseldijk ◽  
HJWM Cremers ◽  
A Gröne ◽  
MH Verheije ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Granulomatous Dermatitis ◽  
Anisakis Spp

Asymmetry in the skull of the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena (L.) and its relationship to sound production and echolocation

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Yurick ◽  
D. E. Gaskin
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Pacific ◽  
Precocious Development

Cranial asymmetry in the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena (L.) was studied using a series of 115 skulls obtained from animals from both sides of the North Atlantic and the east coast of the North Pacific. The degree of sinistrad asymmetry or "skew" did not differ significantly between these three populations. Contrary to an earlier report in the literature, skew was not found to be correlated with skull length or, by implication, age. This result is in accord with the necessity for precocious development of the nasal sac complex and associated structures in this species, which inhabits an environment in which the aural and acoustic faculties are of paramount importance.

scholarly journals Vocal Creativity in Elephant Sound Production

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 750
Author(s):  
Angela S. Stoeger ◽  
Anton Baotic ◽  
Gunnar Heilmann
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Positive Reinforcement ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Social Feedback ◽  
Nasal Tissue ◽  
Production Techniques ◽  
Production Mechanisms

How do elephants achieve their enormous vocal flexibility when communicating, imitating or creating idiosyncratic sounds? The mechanisms that underpin this trait combine motoric abilities with vocal learning processes. We demonstrate the unusual production techniques used by five African savanna elephants to create idiosyncratic sounds, which they learn to produce on cue by positive reinforcement training. The elephants generate these sounds by applying nasal tissue vibration via an ingressive airflow at the trunk tip, or by contracting defined superficial muscles at the trunk base. While the production mechanisms of the individuals performing the same sound categories are similar, they do vary in fine-tuning, revealing that each individual has its own specific sound-producing strategy. This plasticity reflects the creative and cognitive abilities associated with ‘vocal’ learning processes. The fact that these sounds were reinforced and cue-stimulated suggests that social feedback and positive reinforcement can facilitate vocal creativity and vocal learning behavior in elephants. Revealing the mechanism and the capacity for vocal learning and sound creativity is fundamental to understanding the eloquence within the elephants’ communication system. This also helps to understand the evolution of human language and of open-ended vocal systems, which build upon similar cognitive processes.

Oral Air Pressure and Nasal Air Flow Rate on Levator Veli Palatini Muscle Activity in Patients Wearing a Speech Appliance

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 382-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Tachimura ◽  
Hisanaga Hara ◽  
Takeshi Wada
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Air Flow ◽  
Air Pressure ◽  
Electromyographic Activity ◽  
Air Flow Rate ◽  
Circular Area ◽  
Pharyngeal Bulb ◽  
Levator Veli Palatini

This study was designed to determine if levator veli palatini muscle activity can be elicited by simultaneous changes in oral air pressure and nasal air flow when a speech appliance is in place. The speech appliances routinely worn by 15 subjects were each modified experimentally by drilling a hole in the vertical center of the pharyngeal bulb. The air flow rate into the nasal cavity through the opening in the bulb was altered by changing the circular area of the opening in the bulb from the occluded condition (Condition I), to circular area of 12.6 mm2 (4 mm in diameter; Condition II), and then to 38.5 mm2 (7 mm in diameter; Condition III). Electromyographic activity was measured from the levator veli palatini muscle with changes in nasal air flow rate and oral air pressure. Levator veli palatini muscle activity was correlated with changes in nasal air flow and oral air pressure. Increases in levator veli palatini muscle activity were associated with increases in nasal air flow rate compared to oral air pressure changes. The results indicated that aerodynamic variables of nasal air flow and oral air pressure might be involved in the neural control of speech production in individuals wearing a speech appliance, even if the subjects exhibit velopharyngeal incompetence without using a speech appliance. Also, the stimulating effect of bulb reduction therapy on velopharyngeal function might be achieved through the change in aerodynamic variables in association with the bulb reduction.

scholarly journals Spermatozoa of the Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin, Tursiops truncatus

Reproduction ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 509-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Fleming ◽  
R. Yanagimachi ◽  
H. Yanagimachi
Keyword(s):  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Bottlenosed Dolphin

Potential Rates of Increase of a Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) Population Subjected to Incidental Mortality in Commercial Fisheries

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 2429-2435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Woodley ◽  
Andrew J. Read
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Intrinsic Rate ◽  
Frequency Equation ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Intrinsic Rate Of Increase ◽  
Natural Mortality ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Incidental Mortality

We estimated the potential intrinsic rate of increase (r) of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) population in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine using empirical data on reproductive rates (mx) and several hypothetical survival (Ix) schedules. Schedules of Ix, to maximum ages of 12 and 15 yr, were calculated from two potential natural mortality (nx) schedules combined with several schedules of incidental mortality (hx) estimates. The most realistic results were obtained when nx of non-calves were calculated from Caugley's (1966. Ecology 47: 906–918) smoothed age-frequency equation for Himalayan thar (Hemitragus jemlahicus) and applied in conjunction with a range of calf natural mortality estimates, this model indicates that harbour porpoises have a limited capacity for population increase, and populations are unlikely to sustain even moderate levels of incidental mortality (4% of the population per year). Extending the maximum age used in the models from 12 to 15 yr does little to increase estimates of r for the harbour porpoise population, and hence their susceptibility to incidental mortality.

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