Effects of age and size in the ears of gekkotan lizards: Auditory sensitivity, its determinants, and new insights into tetrapod middle-ear function

Yehudah L. Werner, Lynda G. Montgomery, Merav Seifan, James C. Saunders

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Do related, differently sized species differ in size-related structural or functional traits merely because they mature at different points of a uniform allometric ontogenetic growth curve, or do they evolutionarily diverge? We tested ears of gekkotan lizards through experiments distinguishing the two. Auditory sensitivity was assessed by compound action potential (CAP) thresholds in eight species. The best thresholds characterizing species ranged 22-72 dB sound pressure level at 0.5-1.0 kHz. Direct acoustic stimulation of the columella footplate elevated thresholds by 25-50 dB. Intraspecific CAP sensitivity was primarily affected by body length in Eublepharis macularius, but by tympanic-membrane velocity in Oedura marmorata. The chief factor determining middle-ear function (difference in CAP sensitivity before and after middle-ear ablation) was body length in both species. A secondary factor was the middle-ear hydraulic lever ratio in E. macularius, but the mechanical lever in O. marmorata. When intra- and interspecific data were compared, the relation of CAP thresholds to body size in E. macularius resembled the interspecific regression. The intraspecific regression of auditory sensitivity over tympanic membrane velocity in O. marmorata differed from that calculated interspecifically. Hence, the evolutionary contribution to size effects on CAP sensitivity exceeds the ontogenetic contribution. Putatively, body length affects CAP sensitivity through absolute sizes of tympanic membrane and columella footplate. These newly discovered effects join those of the hydraulic lever and (interspecifically) hair-cell number to improve the hearing of larger species that vocally communicate across wider spaces, apparently throughout the Tetrapoda.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)951-967
Number of pages17
JournalPflugers Archiv European Journal of Physiology
Volume456
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Columella footplate
  • Compound action potential
  • Gecko
  • Ontogeny
  • Phylogeny
  • Tympanic membrane

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Physiology (medical)

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