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On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants

SIMPLE SUMMARY: We use data similar to that taken by the International Monitoring System for the detection of nuclear explosions, to determine whether elephants might be capable of detecting and locating the source of sounds generated by thunderstorms. Knowledge that elephants might be capable of re...

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Autores principales: Kelley, Michael C., Garstang, Michael
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494393/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26487406
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani3020349
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author Kelley, Michael C.
Garstang, Michael
author_facet Kelley, Michael C.
Garstang, Michael
author_sort Kelley, Michael C.
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: We use data similar to that taken by the International Monitoring System for the detection of nuclear explosions, to determine whether elephants might be capable of detecting and locating the source of sounds generated by thunderstorms. Knowledge that elephants might be capable of responding to such storms, particularly at the end of the dry season when migrations are initiated, is of considerable interest to management and conservation. ABSTRACT: Theoretical calculations suggest that sounds produced by thunderstorms and detected by a system similar to the International Monitoring System (IMS) for the detection of nuclear explosions at distances ≥100 km, are at sound pressure levels equal to or greater than 6 × 10(−3) Pa. Such sound pressure levels are well within the range of elephant hearing. Frequencies carrying these sounds might allow for interaural time delays such that adult elephants could not only hear but could also locate the source of these sounds. Determining whether it is possible for elephants to hear and locate thunderstorms contributes to the question of whether elephant movements are triggered or influenced by these abiotic sounds.
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spelling pubmed-44943932015-09-30 On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants Kelley, Michael C. Garstang, Michael Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: We use data similar to that taken by the International Monitoring System for the detection of nuclear explosions, to determine whether elephants might be capable of detecting and locating the source of sounds generated by thunderstorms. Knowledge that elephants might be capable of responding to such storms, particularly at the end of the dry season when migrations are initiated, is of considerable interest to management and conservation. ABSTRACT: Theoretical calculations suggest that sounds produced by thunderstorms and detected by a system similar to the International Monitoring System (IMS) for the detection of nuclear explosions at distances ≥100 km, are at sound pressure levels equal to or greater than 6 × 10(−3) Pa. Such sound pressure levels are well within the range of elephant hearing. Frequencies carrying these sounds might allow for interaural time delays such that adult elephants could not only hear but could also locate the source of these sounds. Determining whether it is possible for elephants to hear and locate thunderstorms contributes to the question of whether elephant movements are triggered or influenced by these abiotic sounds. MDPI 2013-04-18 /pmc/articles/PMC4494393/ /pubmed/26487406 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani3020349 Text en © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Kelley, Michael C.
Garstang, Michael
On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants
title On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants
title_full On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants
title_fullStr On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants
title_full_unstemmed On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants
title_short On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants
title_sort on the possible detection of lightning storms by elephants
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494393/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26487406
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani3020349
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