New Dolphin Super Power Discovered
taylorvich writes:
https://newatlas.com/biology/dolphin-sense-electric-fields/
Already equipped with an impressive sonar system, new research reveals that dolphins have an extra ability that evolves as they mature in the space where their baby whiskers once were. The super sense may help them navigate and find hidden food sources.
Dolphins' sonar ability, known as echolocation, is fairly legendary in the animal kingdom. This ability is so accurate that the mammals, which are technically whales, can use it to distinguish between a golf ball and a ping-pong ball underwater based on the densities of the two objects. But that's not where the creatures' impressive abilities end.
They also have eyes that allow them to see in two directions at once; skin that secretes an antibacterial gel to ward off parasites and barnacles; they can get enough thrust to reach 30 mph; and they turn off half their brains at a time in order to get rest. A 2019 study also revealed that they have super immune systems that grant them protection from antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Now, a new study out of the University of Rostock (UR) in Germany adds another impressive skill to the dolphin's roster of powers: the ability to sense weak electric fields.
Two UR researchers took a closer look at the small pits that are left behind after young bottlenose dolphins shed the thin whiskers they are born with. They realized that the pits looked like the same structures that allow sharks to detect electrical fields and designed a study to see if they functioned the same way for the dolphins.
They first trained two dolphins at the Nuremberg Zoo to rest their jaws on a metal bar submerged in a pool. Then, they trained them to swim away whenever they sensed an electrical current being produced just above their snouts. One dolphin was able to sense signals down to those measuring just 5.5 microvolts/cm, while the other was even more sensitive, picking on a current measuring 2.4 microvolts/cm. One microvolt is equal to one millionth of a volt.
Journal Reference:
Kathryn Knight, Bottlenose dolphins' electric super sense could help them navigate the globe, J Exp Biol (2023) 226 (22): jeb246907 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246907
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