University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2013 Structure and Function of Pinniped Vibrissae Christin Taylor Murphy University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Murphy, Christin Taylor, "Structure and Function of Pinniped Vibrissae" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4733 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Structure and Function of Pinniped Vibrissae by Christin T. Murphy A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Marine Science University of South Florida Major Professor: David Mann, Ph.D. Colleen Reichmuth, Ph.D. Gordon Bauer, Ph.D. Jose Torres, Ph.D. Mya Breitbart, Ph.D. Date of Approval: June 26, 2013 Keywords: Whiskers, Vibrotactile, Sensitivity, Laser Vibrometer, Tagging Copyright © 2013, Christin T. Murphy DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my family and to the many teachers I have had along this path. Thank you for the love, support, and inspiration. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to my advisor David Mann for the amazing opportunity to undertake this graduate work. Thank you to Gordon Bauer, Heidi Harley, Jose Torres, and Mya Breitbart for your brilliant teaching and mentorship. Thank you to the amazing team at the UCSC Pinniped Cognition and Sensory Systems Laboratory. Thank you to Colleen Reichmuth for accepting me into the lab family, to Asila Ghoul for extensive input and assistance with animal training, and to Sarah, Brendan, Andrew, Rebecca, Janine, Megan, Roxanne, and Sonny for help with data collection. Thank you to Carolyn, Jenna, and Michelle for help with training (both me and the animals) and to Guy, Kane, Peter, and Jillian for your insight. And of course, thank you to Sprouts!! Thank you to the Bio- Thermal-Fluids Lab at UVA for collaborating with me on the flume experiments. Thank you to Joseph Humphrey for making this cooperative research possible, to Benton Calhoun for guidance and support, and Craig Eberhardt for tolerating our marathon data collection sessions. Thank you to Danielle and the Mann Lab team. Thank you to the Marine Mammal Center for help with sample collection. Thank you to Kenneth Mann and Ryan Izant for collaboration on the CT scan research. Thank you to True Blue Films and Discovery Communications for high speed video footage. Thank you to Matthias Elliott, Jesse Stagg and Jenn Cossaboon for graphic design. Thank you to the NSF and the Lake Fellowship for funding my graduate work. Thank you to Erin Symonds and to Chris Reeves for your unwavering support. Thank you to my father for teaching me hard work and dedication. Thank you to my mother for being the greatest champion of my education and for being there every step of the way. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vii GENERAL INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1 Motor control .............................................................................................................. 3 Anatomy and innervation ............................................................................................ 5 Morphology................................................................................................................. 8 Sensitivity ................................................................................................................... 8 References ................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 1: EFFECT OF ANGLE ON FLOW-INDUCED VIBRATIONS OF PINNIPED VIBRISSAE ....................................................................................................20 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 20 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 21 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................. 25 Sample collection ...................................................................................................... 25 Flume apparatus and vibration recordings ................................................................ 27 Calculated theoretical vibration frequency ............................................................... 29 CT Scanning of vibrissal structure ............................................................................ 30 Underwater photographic images ............................................................................. 31 Ethics statement ........................................................................................................ 31 Results ................................................................................................................... 32 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 35 Tables ................................................................................................................... 40 Figures ................................................................................................................... 46 Description of Supplementary Material ........................................................................ 58 References ................................................................................................................... 59 i CHAPTER 2: SENSITIVITY OF THE VIBRISSAL SYSTEM OF A HARBOR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA) TO DIRECTLY COUPLED SINUSOIDAL VIBRATIONS ...................................................................................................................62 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 62 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 63 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................. 67 Subjects ..................................................................................................................... 67 Ethics statement ........................................................................................................ 68 Experimental design.................................................................................................. 68 Testing environment ................................................................................................. 68 Stimulus generation .................................................................................................. 69 Stimulus calibration .................................................................................................. 70 Stimulus mapping ..................................................................................................... 70 Experimental controls ............................................................................................... 71 Psychophysical procedure ......................................................................................... 73 Threshold calculation ................................................................................................ 76 Results ................................................................................................................... 77 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 79 Tables ................................................................................................................... 85 Figures ................................................................................................................... 87 References ................................................................................................................... 92 CHAPTER 3: SEAL WHISKER VIBRATIONS ARE DISRUPTED BY HYDRODYNAMIC FIELDS ............................................................................................95 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 95 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 96 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................. 99 Instrumentation ......................................................................................................... 99 Excised whisker flume testing ...............................................................................