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Echolocation - Example Papers

Echolocation

Echolcation - the location of objects by their echos - is a highly specialized faculty that enables dolphins to explore their environment and search out their prey in a watery world where sight is often of little use. As sound travels four and a half times faster in water than in air, the dolphin's brain must be extremely well adapted in order to make a rapid analysis of the complicated information provided by the echoes.

Although the ability to echolcate has only been proven experimentally for a few odontocete species, the anatomical evidence - the presence of the melon, nasal sacs and specialized skull structures - suggests that all dolphins have this ability.

The dolphin is able to ...

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and the fatty tissue behind it transmits the sound to the middle e ar and thence to the brain. It has recently been suggested that the teeth of the dolphin, and the mandibular nerve that runs through the jawbone may transmit additional information to the dolphin's brain.

As soon as an echo is received, the dolphin generates another click. The time lapse between click and echo enables the dolphin to evaluate the distance between it and the object; the varying strength of the signal as it is received on the two sides of th e dolphin's head enable it to evaluate direction. By continuously emitting clicks and receiving echoes in theis way, the dolphin can track objects and home in on them.

The echolocation system of the dolphin is extremely sensitive and complex. Using only its acoustic senses, a bottlenose dolphin can discriminate between practically identical objects which differ by ten per cent or less in volume or surface area. It can do this in a noisy environment, can ...

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Echolocation. (2011, June 8). Retrieved January 8, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Echolocation/99621

"Echolocation." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 8 Jun. 2011. Web. 8 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Echolocation/99621>

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 6/8/2011 12:22:58 AM
Submitted By: jithendra
Category: Science & Nature
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 404
Pages: 2

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