How do marine mammals use sound to navigate?
Marine mammals live in environments where navigation is very difficult. They constantly have to find their way through their environment in the dark of night, the darkness of the deep ocean, ice covered waters, and the murky waters of rivers and coastal waterways. Marine mammals have demonstrated amazing abilities to navigate their way through even the harshest marine conditions. How are they able to accomplish such a feat? Many questions of how marine mammals navigate are still being investigated, but some answers have become clear. Sound plays an important role in navigation of marine mammals. Marine mammals also may use other cues for navigation. For example, in areas where marine mammals spend lots of time, they may use spatial memory to “map” their surroundings. Bats have a highly developed spatial memory that helps them travel through familiar locations; dolphins may use a similar technique. The simplest manner in which marine mammals use sound to navigate is to listen to sounds
