Auditory brainstem responses in the Eastern Screech Owl: An estimate of auditory thresholds

Brittan‐Powell, Elizabeth F.; Lohr, Bernard; Hahn, Dittmar; Dooling, Robert J.

doi:10.1121/1.1928767

Cited by 57 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The ABR threshold is the lowest stimulus intensity that elicits a detectable ABR waveform. In birds, ABR thresholds are 25-30dB higher than behavioral auditory thresholds and correlate with ABR latency (Dmitrieva and Gottlieb, 1992;Brittan-Powell et al, 2002;Brittan-Powell et al, 2005;Henry and Lucas, 2008). ABR thresholds determined by cross-correlation, as in the present study, reflect contributions of the auditory periphery and brainstem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Vocally correlated seasonal auditory variation in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Henry

Lucas

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYSongbirds exhibit seasonal plasticity in a broad variety of behavioral and morphological traits associated with reproduction. Changes in song production are well described while changes in song reception are not. In the present study, we test for seasonal variation in auditory processing of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus L.) using auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to tone bursts. We measured amplitude and latency of the first ABR peak in spring, summer and autumn at stimulus frequencies from 0.8 to 6.4kHz and intensity levels from 24 to 80dB SPL. ABR thresholds were determined at each frequency using cross-correlation. Amplitude was greater in spring than in autumn at frequencies from 3.2 to 6.4kHz whereas latency and thresholds exhibited no seasonal variation. The results indicate an increase in the number or temporal synchrony of responses from peripheral auditory neurons during the early breeding season. Changes in peripheral auditory processing may enhance temporal coding of the fine structure and envelope of song; thereby, improving assessment of encoded information in both sexes (e.g. individual identity and dominance status) and auditory feedback during song production in males. Peripheral auditory changes may be mediated by reproductive hormones, and could involve changes in hair cell density on the basilar papilla. Our results suggest that peripheral auditory processing of songbirds changes seasonally in parallel with other behavioral and morphological traits, such as song production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Vocally correlated seasonal auditory variation in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Henry

Lucas

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…A burrowing owl audiogram was not available, but they have symmetrical ears and hunt similar prey to that of eastern screech owls Megascops asio, so the auditory brainstem response for the latter species (Brittan-Powell et al 2005) was converted to a behavioural lower hear- Sound from the source(s) was detectable at the receiver location (owl or random location) if the sound pressure level was above ambient sound levels when ambient sound was above the lower hearing threshold (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Owl Detection Of Soundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of human footprint and sensory disturbances on night-time space use of an owl

Scobie¹,

Bayne²,

Wellicome³

2016

Endang. Species. Res.

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Artificial sensory disturbances (sound and light) can extend far beyond the physical footprint of human development. Nocturnal predators such as owls may be influenced by artificial sound and light, as they depend on aural and visual cues when hunting. Owl nocturnal movements may also be altered by physical changes to the landscape, as these can affect prey availability. The burrowing owl population in Canada has declined by 90% and was classified as endangered in 1995. We tracked adult male burrowing owls Athene cunicularia with GPS dataloggers, and used resource selection models to examine their night-time movement patterns in relation to human infrastructure and associated artificial light and sound. The amount of sound and light from compressor stations, oil wells, traffic, towns and buildings was calculated for each owl and random location. We found that owl night-time space use was better predicted by distance to infrastructure on the landscape than by intensity of sensory disturbance. Burrowing owls did not show a pronounced avoidance of artificial sound. Infrastructure best predicts owl space use, perhaps because associated changes to vegetation alter prey abundance and availability. While human infrastructure most influenced owl nocturnal space use, the extent to which ecosystems are impacted by artificial sound and light is becoming clearer and needs to be considered when assessing the total effect of human development on species.

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“…Disparities between psychoacoustics and the ABR have been documented in many animal groups, but differences between the two methods appear to be greatest in avian species, including screech owls (Megascops asio), budgerigars, tufted titmice, house sparrows, white-breasted nuthatches, and finches (Woolley and Rubel, 1999;Brittan-Powell et al, 2002;Brittan-Powell et al, 2005;Henry and Lucas, 2008). The only other data available for a duck species, the mallard, displays a similar disparity (Trainer, 1946;Dmitrieva and Gottlieb, 1992).…”

Section: B Comparison Of Abr and Psychoacoustic Audiogramsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All birds were sedated with isoflurane (2%À4%; the lowest possible percentage was used to prevent movement in the bird) prior to electrode placement. Subjects were presented with tone burst stimuli and at frequencies between 0.5 and 5.7 kHz (see Crowell et al, 2015;Brittan-Powell et al, 2002;Brittan-Powell et al, 2005;Brittan-Powell et al, 2010). The stimulus presentation and ABR acquisition were coordinated using Tucker-Davis Technologies (Gainesville, FL) hardware and OpenABR software (Edward Smith, University of Maryland).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-air hearing of a diving duck: A comparison of psychoacoustic and auditory brainstem response thresholds

Crowell

Wells‐Berlin

Therrien

et al. 2016

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Auditory sensitivity was measured in a species of diving duck that is not often kept in captivity, the lesser scaup. Behavioral (psychoacoustics) and electrophysiological [the auditory brainstem response (ABR)] methods were used to measure in-air auditory sensitivity, and the resulting audiograms were compared. Both approaches yielded audiograms with similar U-shapes and regions of greatest sensitivity (2000À3000 Hz). However, ABR thresholds were higher than psychoacoustic thresholds at all frequencies. This difference was least at the highest frequency tested using both methods (5700 Hz) and greatest at 1000 Hz, where the ABR threshold was 26.8 dB higher than the behavioral measure of threshold. This difference is commonly reported in studies involving many different species. These results highlight the usefulness of each method, depending on the testing conditions and availability of the animals. [http://dx

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Auditory brainstem responses in the Eastern Screech Owl: An estimate of auditory thresholds

Cited by 57 publications

References 39 publications

Vocally correlated seasonal auditory variation in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Vocally correlated seasonal auditory variation in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Influence of human footprint and sensory disturbances on night-time space use of an owl

In-air hearing of a diving duck: A comparison of psychoacoustic and auditory brainstem response thresholds

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