Sound localisation in a habitat: An analytical approach to quantifying the degradation of directional cues

Although much research has been done to describe the degradation of sound signals propagating in natural habitats, the directional cues of sound have so far been neglected. This paper describes a first approach to quantifying the degradation of directional cues in sound propagating parallel to the ground in a grassland habitat of orthopteran insects. A matched pair of probe microphones measured the sound amplitude and phase close to the ears of grasshopper carcasses for 12 evenly spaced directions of sound incidence. The degradation was found to increase with frequency and distance from the sound source and to decrease with distance from the ground. The acoustical data were used to predict how well animals with different auditory systems can determine the direction of the sender. At one position in the habitat, the predictions were compared with the pattern of phonotactic responses of live grasshoppers. Amplitude cues appear to degrade much faster with distance than phase cues. Animals exploiting phase cues may therefore maintain a reasonable directional hearing when the amplitude cues no longer make sense. The pressure-difference-receiver type of ears responds to phase differences, and these ears may be particularly suited to overcoming the degradation of directional cues. This suggests that the possession of such ears may be an adaptation not only to small body size (relative to wavelength), but also to the acoustic properties of the habitat