Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology; and, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2005. / Handwritten on CDROMS: v. [1]. Appendix, histological images -- v. [2]. CT images. -- Table of contents refers to CDROMS as: Appendix and CT and histological images for all species, attached CD) / Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, leaves 216-247). / In this thesis, the relationships of olfactory sensitivity to three biological variables were tested. The sensitivity of a marine mammal, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) was measured in order to determine whether a marine lifestyle results in impaired olfaction. The effect of dietary relevance on sensitivity to specific odorants was evaluated. Finally, a new morphometric model of olfactory uptake efficiency was developed and tested against behavioral measurements of olfactory sensitivity in twelve mammalian species from five orders. Olfactory thresholds were obtained for the first time from two sea otters for seven odorant compounds from various natural sources. Otters were trained using operant conditioning to participate in direct behavioral testing. Sea otter olfactory sensitivity was comparable to that of previously studied terrestrial mammals. The incidence of an odorant in the diet of the olfactor was found to influence specific sensitivity to that compound but to varying degrees among different mammalian orders. Nasal cavity specimens were measured using radiologic (CT scan) and histologic (light microscopy) techniques. Surface areas and volumes of the nasal cavity were used to calculate the Olfactory Uptake Efficiency (OUE). OUE is significantly related to olfactory bulb volume. A possible relationship was found between OUE and general olfactory sensitivity. / by Jennifer Hammock. / Ph.D.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/58687 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Hammock, Jennifer, 1974- |
| Contributors | Darlene R. Ketten., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Biology., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. |
| Publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | M.I.T. Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 2 v. (308 leaves), application/pdf |
| Rights | M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 |
| Relation | CDROMs contain files in the following formats: .jpg, .xls, .db and .tif. |
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