Insights from Comparative Hearing Research, 2014 Springer Handbook of Auditory Research Series, Vol. 49

The hearing organs of non-mammals, which show quite large and systematic differences to each other and to those of mammals, provide an invaluable basis for comparisons of structure and function. By taking advantage of the vast diversity of possible study organisms provided by the "library" that is biological diversity, it is possible to learn how complex functions are realized in the inner ear through the evolution of specific structural, cellular and molecular configurations. Insights from Comparative Hearing Research brings together some of the most exciting comparative research on hearing and shows how this work has profoundly impacted our understanding of hearing in all vertebrates.

Unique Contributions from Comparative Auditory Research.- Transduction and Amplification in the Ear: Insights from Insects.- Roles for Prestin in Harnessing the Basilar Membrane to the Organ of Corti.- Origin and development of hair-cell orientation in the inner ear.- The Remarkable Ear of Geckos and Pygopods.- Ultrasound Detection in Fishes and Frogs: Discovery and Mechanisms.- The Malleable Middle Ear: an Underappreciated Player in the Evolution of Hearing in Vertebrates.- Auditory Brainstem Processing in Reptiles and Amphibians: Roles of Coupled Ears.- Modern Imaging Techniques as a Window to Prehistoric Auditory Worlds.- Emu and Kiwi: The Ear and Hearing in Paleognathous Birds.- Diversity in Hearing in Fishes: Ecoacoustical, Communicative, and Developmental Constraints.- Reptile Auditory Neuroethology: What do Reptiles do with Their Hearing?.- Advances in Understanding the Auditory Brain of Songbirds.