Audiogram of a formerly stranded long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) measured using auditory evoked potentials

Abstract

SUMMARY Long-finned pilot whales are highly social odontocetes found in temperate and subpolar regions. This species is particularly known for its interaction with fisheries as well as its mass strandings. Recent tagging work has provided some information about pilot whales in the wild but, even though they have been successfully kept in captivity, little is known about their sensory capabilities. This study investigates the hearing abilities of a rehabilitated 2 year old male long-finned pilot whale. A complete audiogram was collected using auditory evoked potential techniques that included measurements of nine frequencies from 4 to 100 kHz presented as sinusoidally amplitude-modulated tones. The results indicated that the region of best hearing was between 11.2 and 50 kHz and the subject had relatively poor high frequency hearing compared with other odontocete species. This study emphasizes the importance of collecting basic hearing measurements from new species, understanding diagnostic life histories as well as continuously increasing the sample size of audiometry measurements within and between odontocete species as animals become available.