Scientific facts

By: science human

Have you ever wondered how ducks hear underwater? How far could they hear? What is the hearing range of ducks in the sea?

Kate McGrew spent two whole seasons working with and raising ducks to determine what they hear underwater. Sea ducks dive to catch their prey in oceans around the world but are often caught in fishnets and killed. Her goal was to use 3 common types of sea ducks and determine what they hear. 

First she had to teach them how to associate a sound with a treat. Then she taught them to peck a target when they heard that sound, and then took them underwater. The ducks needed to learn to respond to light and diving and grabbing the target and go back to the surface and grab another target. She said that long tail ducks are smarter as they were trying to get the treats without showing the right behaviour. Surf scoters were not the smartest. When they learn, they perform it decently. In the end, it turned out that ducks hear pretty well underwater in a range of 3 kilohertz.

That’s all for today’s fun science facts 

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