discussion / Acoustics  / 11 March 2020

Audiograms- the range species can hear at

We are conducting a study looking for the auditory range of different species - the range at which they can sound. We have only found one authoritative source - https://www.utoledo.edu/al/psychology/research/psychobio/audiograms2.html

Does anybody know of others?

Thanks in advance!




I'm a primatologist so can't say too much about other mammal taxa, but I believe this is the most comprehensive resource for primate audiograms--

Coleman, M. N. (2009). What do primates hear? A meta-analysis of all known nonhuman primate behavioral audiograms. International Journal of Primatology, 30(1), 55-91.

Hi Isla,

Range at which animals hear sounds depend on 4 things:

1) the frequency (pitch) of the sound of interest. As a rule of thumb, lower frequency sounds travel farther since high frequency sounds are subject to more absorption transmission losses.

2) the medium in which the sound is being transmitted in (i.e. sound travels at ~1500m/s in seawater and ~340m/s in air).

3) the audiogram of the animal (i.e. what frequencies CAN they hear), which Carly is referring to in the previous comment. 

There has been a lot of audiogram research on marine mammals. Find an overview and links to a handful of publications here: https://dosits.org/animals/effects-of-sound/measure-marine-mammals-reaction-to-sound/hearing-sensitivity-studies/ . This has also recently been explored in diving seabirds from SDU (university of southern denmark).

and 

4) the noise levels in the environment, as sounds can only be distinguished if they have some decent signal-to-noise ratio.

If you have any specific more questions, get in touch.

Cheers,

Chloe