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Mechanisms of Vibration Detection in Mammals

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Biotremology: Studying Vibrational Behavior

Part of the book series: Animal Signals and Communication ((ANISIGCOM,volume 6))

Abstract

Ground-borne vibrations are known to be used for a range of different purposes among mammals, but the sensory mechanisms used in their detection often remain unclear. Potential somatosensory receptors for low-frequency seismic cues include Pacinian and Meissner’s corpuscles, while some species such as golden moles are believed to be adapted towards bone-conducted hearing. This chapter outlines the basic physiology underlying vibratory detection by these various means, and considers species in which particular mechanisms are likely to be prominent. Both the somatosensory and the auditory systems have been implicated in the vibratory sensitivity of elephants and spalacid mole rats, which are examined in detail as case studies. It may prove to be the case that interactions between these two modalities at a central level render any clear distinction impossible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Matthew J. Mason & Léa M. D. Wenger

Authors
  1. Matthew J. Mason
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  2. Léa M. D. Wenger
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Correspondence to Matthew J. Mason .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA

    Peggy S. M. Hill

  2. Institut für Tierphysiologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Gießen, Germany

    Reinhard Lakes-Harlan

  3. Department of Sustainable Agro-ecosystems & Bioresources, Edmund Mach Foundation – Research and Innovation Centre, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy

    Valerio Mazzoni

  4. Departments of Physiological Science, Integrative Biology & Physiology, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Peter M. Narins

  5. Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Meta Virant-Doberlet

  6. Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas Wessel

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Mason, M.J., Wenger, L.M.D. (2019). Mechanisms of Vibration Detection in Mammals. In: Hill, P., Lakes-Harlan, R., Mazzoni, V., Narins, P., Virant-Doberlet, M., Wessel, A. (eds) Biotremology: Studying Vibrational Behavior . Animal Signals and Communication, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22293-2_10

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