SGER: Field Testing To Confirm The Sensory Hypothesis Of the Male Narwhal Tusk

自1495年Albertus Magnus的著作以来，独角鲸长牙的功能一直没有被科学发现。长而螺旋的象牙激发了独角兽的传说，吸引了艺术家，激发了探险家的兴趣，也让科学家感到困惑。现在，有初步证据表明，象牙是一种感觉器官，可以探测温度、压力、粒子和离子溶液的梯度，并具有触觉。这项实验将在36度的北极水域完成，实验对象是圈养的鲸鱼，这些鲸鱼是加拿大正常迁徙标记工作的一部分。可变盐离子溶液将被引入到环绕部分象牙的垫圈中。当象牙暴露在这些溶液中时，大脑和肌肉的活动、心跳和脉搏以及声音反应都会被监测到。这一结果有望证实在电子显微镜下观察象牙所建立的微观解剖模型。结果应该证实了2007年考察中观察到的明显的视觉反应，即高盐离子溶液暴露在象牙表面后，象牙立即摆动。这种感官能力的发现和记录将对公众和科学产生广泛的影响。独角鲸可能是自然界最好的全球变暖探测器，因为感知盐离子溶液的能力与冰的形成和融化直接相关。此外，就牙齿组织的发育而言，独角鲸的长牙可能是数亿年前甲鱼能够探测温度、压力、溶液中的颗粒和触觉变化的关键进化环节。

The function of the narwhal tusk has eluded scientific discovery since the writings of Albertus Magnus in 1495. The long, spiraled tusk, inspiring the legend of the unicorn, has captivated artists, intrigued explorers and baffled scientists. Now, there is preliminary evidence suggesting that the tusk is a sensory organ, detecting gradients of temperature, pressure, particle and ion solutions, and having tactile sensation. The experiment will be completed in 36 degree Arctic waters on captive whales that are part of normal migration tagging efforts in Canada. Variable salt ion solutions will be introduced to a gasket that surrounds a portion of the tusk. As the tusk is exposed to these solutions, brain and muscle activity, heart and pulse rate, and vocal response will be monitored. The results are expected to confirm the micro-anatomic model developed by examining tusks under an electron microscope. The results should confirm overt visual responses observed during the 2007 expedition, of tusk waving immediately after high salt ion solutions were exposed to the tusk surface. The discovery and documentation of this sensory ability will have broad public and scientific impacts. The narwhal may be nature's best detector of global warming, as the ability to sense salt ion solutions is directly linked to ice formation and melting. Furthermore, for tooth tissue development, the narwhal tusk may be the key evolutionary link to several hundred million years ago when armored fish may have been able to detect gradients of temperature, pressure, particles in solution, and tactile events.