Manatee Vibrissae ? A Mammalian Lateral Line?

濒临灭绝的佛罗里达海牛有一些不寻常的解剖和行为适应有关的独特作用，作为哺乳动物水生食草动物。 其中最主要的是遍布全身的感觉毛，而在大多数哺乳动物中，这些感觉毛只存在于面部胡须中。 目前的研究使用两个圈养海牛在莫特海洋实验室评估这个系统的专门的头发检测与其他移动的动物，河流和潮汐流动，所有这些都是线索可能被用于导航的水生振动的能力。 这项研究不仅涉及海牛的正常行为，还涉及它们发现和避免接近船只的能力。 这两只动物已经接受了一些相关任务的训练，并且能够在行为上报告是否检测到刺激。 将有可能确定动物能够响应的频率和振幅的范围，以及它们的定向定位能力的程度。 它还可以发现身体的某些部分是否比其他部分更敏感。 佛罗里达大学将对死后大脑进行解剖实验，以绘制介导这些能力的神经连接。 这项工作利用了特殊的荧光示踪剂，通过扩散在几个月的时间内沿着神经纤维传播。 此外，该项目的一个重要部分包括与莫特，新学院，南佛罗里达大学和佛罗里达大学的学生和教师的教育互动。

Endangered Florida manatees have a number of unusual anatomical and behavioral adaptations related to their unique role as mammalian aquatic herbivores. Chief among these is the presence of sensory hairs over the entire body, whereas in most mammals these are only present as facial whiskers. The present research uses two captive manatees at Mote Marine Laboratory to assess the ability of this system of specialized hairs to detect water-borne vibrations associated with other moving animals, river currents, and tidal flows, all of which are cues likely to be used in navigation. This research relates not only to the normal behavior of manatees, but also to their ability to detect and avoid approaching boats. These two animals have been trained on a number of related tasks and are able to report behaviorally whether a stimulus has been detected. It will be possible to determine the range of frequencies and amplitudes to which the animals are capable of responding, and their degree of directional localization ability. It will also be possible to discover whether certain portions of the body are more sensitive than others. Anatomical experiments on postmortem brains will be performed at the University of Florida to map the neural connections that mediate these abilities. This work utilizes special fluorescent tracers that travel down nerve fibers by diffusion over a period of several months. In addition, a significant portion of this project includes educational interactions with students and teachers at Mote, New College, the University of South Florida, and the University of Florida.