Diving in the World of Biosonar

Some animals use additional senses to see the world differently than humans. One such sense is called biological sonar. Biological sonar is when an animal releases a series of sounds that may not be audible to humans and waits for the echoes to return. Toothed whales, which includes porpoises, are one of two types of animals that use biological sonar to sense and navigate through their environment (the other being bats).

These clicks are one of the most high-pitched signals produced by any animal. The time between the released clicks and the returning echo tells the porpoise the distance and location of the nearby object.

The porpoise’s way of sensing its surroundings is disrupted by noises emitted by pile driving, seismic explosions, and ships, just to name a few. Understanding how they detect their underwater world can help protect them.

To learn more about the research behind this fascinating ability, read the article titled, “The Acoustic World of Harbor Porpoises” in the January–February 2015 issue of American Scientist (restricted to American Scientist subscribers and Sigma Xi members):

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Image and Audio Attributions:

© 2015 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society

[OliviaMaty]

Love this!! SO awesome this is superb information

[AmSciMagazine]

Dive into the world of biosonar with toothed whales, specifically porpoises, to better understand exactly how they perceive their underwater environment with biological sonar: youtu.be/2cOHFZ1aiB8

[AmSciMagazine]

Did you know that toothed whales, which includes porpoises, are only one of two known animals that use biological sonar to sense and navigate through their environment? Watch this animation to see just how it works! youtu.be/2cOHFZ1aiB8

Read more: bit.ly/1HfzVRH

#Sonar #MarineScience #Science #Porpoises #Acoustics #Ocean #Animals