Dr. Darlene Ketten is a scientist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Biology Department and Harvard Medical School's Department of Otology and Laryngology. Her research focuses on the physical shape and function of the hearing and sound producing organs of all types of animals. Dr. Ketten uses computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to construct three-dimensional images and models of marine and terrestrial animals. She also conducts physical dissections to examine animals at the microscopic level. Dr. Ketten uses these data to better understand what and how animals hear.

Dr. Darlene Ketten prepares a harbor porpoise for a CT scan. Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

We recently sat down with Dr. Ketten to discuss recent developments in understanding how marine mammals hear.

        

Related Links and Resources
• Featured Principal Investigator, Office of Naval Research
  
  
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Science Highlights
  
  
• Ketten, D.R. 1997. Structure and function in whale ears. Bioacoustics 8(1-2): 103-135.
• Todd, S., Stevick, S., Lien, J., Marques, F. and Ketten, D. 1996. Behavioural effects of exposure to underwater explosions in humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Canadian Journal of Zoology 74(9): 1661-1672.
• Ketten, D.R. 1994. Functional analyses of whale ears: Adaptations for underwater hearing. IEEE Oceans '94 Proceedings 13-16 September 1994, Brest, France: 264-270.
• Ketten, D.R. 1992. The Cetacean Ear: Form, frequency, and evolution. In: J. Thomas, R.A. Kastelein and A.Y. Supin (eds). Marine Mammal Sensory Systems. Plenum Press: New York, pp. 53-75.
• Ketten, D.R. 1992. The Marine Mammal Ear: Specializations for aquatic audition and echolocation. In: D. Webster, R. Fay and A. Popper (eds). The Evolutionary Biology of Hearing. Springer-Verlag: New York, pp. 717-750.
• Ketten, D.R. and Wartzok, D. 1990. Three-dimensional Reconstructions of the Dolphin Ear. In: J. Thomas and R. Kastelein (eds). Sensory Abilities of Cetaceans. Plenum Press: New York, pp. 81-105.