Dolphin biosonar target detection in noise, auditory filter shape, and temporal integration

Abstract

The biosonar target detection in noise capability of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) has been studied as early as 1981 by Au and Penner. At that time, they presented results of the performance of two dolphins as a function of the signal energy to the density of the noise intensity (as in human psycho-acoustics) and not the signal energy to the noise energy ratio. Subsequently, two important pieces of information were determined, that is the auditory filter shape of the bottlenose dolphin in 2012 along with the temporal integration time for the reception of broadband biosonar echoes in 1988. In all but one experiment, it has been shown that the auditory system of odontocetes has a constant-Q characteristic. The biosonar detection capability of the bottlenose dolphin is revisited, and the target detection performance is now determined as a function of the received energy in the echo to the received noise energy. This presentation is an example of how some biosonar questions can only be ...