Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother

Computed tomography (CT) was used to compare the tissue structures involved in sound production and reception in a fetus and its maternal body of a female finless porpoise ( Neophocaena asiaorientalis sunameri ) found stranded at Huian, Fujian Province, China, in April 2014. Qualitative assessment o...

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Main Authors: Song, Zhongchang, Zhang, Yu, Wang, Xianyan, Wei, Chong, Berggren, Per
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76255
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author Song, Zhongchang
Zhang, Yu
Wang, Xianyan
Wei, Chong
Berggren, Per
author_facet Song, Zhongchang
Zhang, Yu
Wang, Xianyan
Wei, Chong
Berggren, Per
author_sort Song, Zhongchang
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Computed tomography (CT) was used to compare the tissue structures involved in sound production and reception in a fetus and its maternal body of a female finless porpoise ( Neophocaena asiaorientalis sunameri ) found stranded at Huian, Fujian Province, China, in April 2014. Qualitative assessment of the CT images revealed the physical development of main acoustic tissues including melon, blubber, mandibular fat, muscle, and connective tissue in a 10-month old fetus. Compared to the maternal body, the cranium of the fetus was not enclosed, air sacs and nasal meatus were both absent, and the maxilla was much thinner. Furthermore, Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements from CT scanning were used to quantify the difference between the fetus and its maternal body for melon, blubber, mandibular fat, muscle, and connective tissue. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in HU between all 5 structures melon, blubber, mandibular fat, muscle, and connective tissue ( P < 0.001) both in the fetus and maternal body. The median HU values of melon, blubber, mandibular fat, and muscle in the fetus (−61.0, −74.0, −24.0, and 25.0, respectively) were higher than those recorded in the maternal body (−85.0, −85.0, −69.0, and 12.0, respectively). However, the median HU value of connective tissue (50.0) in the fetus was lower than that recorded in the maternal body (60.0). The results show that the acoustic tissue structures were not fully developed in the fetus and depending on the actual age of the fetus the structures may not be fully formed by the time of birth. Further studies are needed to determine at what age finless porpoise calves have fully developed the tissue structures needed to produce and use ultrasound beams for echolocation.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-762552019-09-12T06:50:01Z Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother Song, Zhongchang Zhang, Yu Wang, Xianyan Wei, Chong Berggren, Per Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Zoology biosonar system computed tomography finless porpoise Hounsfield unit WHALE ZIPHIUS-CAVIROSTRIS FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL NEOPHOCAENA-PHOCAENOIDES SOUND-TRANSMISSION BEAM FORMATION ECHOLOCATION DOLPHIN ASIAEORIENTALIS GENERATION SONAR Computed tomography (CT) was used to compare the tissue structures involved in sound production and reception in a fetus and its maternal body of a female finless porpoise ( Neophocaena asiaorientalis sunameri ) found stranded at Huian, Fujian Province, China, in April 2014. Qualitative assessment of the CT images revealed the physical development of main acoustic tissues including melon, blubber, mandibular fat, muscle, and connective tissue in a 10-month old fetus. Compared to the maternal body, the cranium of the fetus was not enclosed, air sacs and nasal meatus were both absent, and the maxilla was much thinner. Furthermore, Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements from CT scanning were used to quantify the difference between the fetus and its maternal body for melon, blubber, mandibular fat, muscle, and connective tissue. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in HU between all 5 structures melon, blubber, mandibular fat, muscle, and connective tissue ( P < 0.001) both in the fetus and maternal body. The median HU values of melon, blubber, mandibular fat, and muscle in the fetus (−61.0, −74.0, −24.0, and 25.0, respectively) were higher than those recorded in the maternal body (−85.0, −85.0, −69.0, and 12.0, respectively). However, the median HU value of connective tissue (50.0) in the fetus was lower than that recorded in the maternal body (60.0). The results show that the acoustic tissue structures were not fully developed in the fetus and depending on the actual age of the fetus the structures may not be fully formed by the time of birth. Further studies are needed to determine at what age finless porpoise calves have fully developed the tissue structures needed to produce and use ultrasound beams for echolocation. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76255 10.1093/jmammal/gyw057 English OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC restricted
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Zoology
biosonar system
computed tomography
finless porpoise
Hounsfield unit
WHALE ZIPHIUS-CAVIROSTRIS
FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL
NEOPHOCAENA-PHOCAENOIDES
SOUND-TRANSMISSION
BEAM FORMATION
ECHOLOCATION
DOLPHIN
ASIAEORIENTALIS
GENERATION
SONAR
Song, Zhongchang
Zhang, Yu
Wang, Xianyan
Wei, Chong
Berggren, Per
Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother
title Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother
title_full Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother
title_fullStr Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother
title_short Comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother
title_sort comparison of acoustic structures between heads of a narrow-ridged finless porpoise fetus and its mother
topic Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Zoology
biosonar system
computed tomography
finless porpoise
Hounsfield unit
WHALE ZIPHIUS-CAVIROSTRIS
FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL
NEOPHOCAENA-PHOCAENOIDES
SOUND-TRANSMISSION
BEAM FORMATION
ECHOLOCATION
DOLPHIN
ASIAEORIENTALIS
GENERATION
SONAR
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76255