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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsTwo Australian sea lions and two long-nosed fur seals, tested in air at Taronga Zoo Sydney, were most sensitive to tones around 3.2 kilohertz. That is the central finding of a 2026 study by Curtin University and Taronga Conservation Society Australia, which the university describes as the first detailed hearing-sensitivity baseline for these two species. The study shows what these animals can hear in air. It does not show how underwater noise affects them, or at what point a sound harms them.
How the hearing tests worked
Keepers at Taronga Zoo Sydney trained each animal to press a paddle when it heard a tone. Correct responses were rewarded with fish. Using this method, researchers could measure which tones the animals reliably detected.
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- The animal learned to associate a tone with pressing the paddle.
- A correct paddle press earned a fish, which reinforced the response.
- Responses across tones built up a picture of which sounds each animal could perceive in air.
Dr Benjamin Pitcher, a Taronga Conservation Society Australia behavioural biologist, explained the reason for the design: “The seals and sea lions were given voluntary choice to participate in the hearing tests using positive reinforcement, allowing us to measure what they could actually perceive while keeping the animals engaged in the process.”
What the animals could hear
Both species peaked near 3.2 kHz
According to the Curtin University release, both the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) and the long-nosed fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) were most sensitive to sounds around 3.2 kilohertz. The release describes this as a sensitivity peak, not a full hearing range, so it should not be read as the limit of what either species can detect.
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Where the full results are published
The work appears in two papers: “Aerial Audiograms of Two Long-Nosed Fur Seals (Arctocephalus forsteri)” in Conservation, and “In-Air Behavioral Audiograms of Two Australian Sea Lions (Neophoca cinerea)” in Animals. The university release does not reproduce the audiograms, individual measurements, or detailed results, so the 3.2 kHz figure is the only frequency value available from the release itself. A species-by-frequency comparison requires the papers themselves.
Why audibility matters for fur seals near people
For long-nosed fur seals, the researchers compared their hearing with noise from boats, ships, aircraft, trains, and construction. They reported that many of these sounds would be audible when the seals are hauled out on land.
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Audibility is the first question in any noise assessment, not the answer. A sound that a seal can hear has not thereby been shown to disturb it, change its behaviour, or damage its hearing. Those are separate questions, and the release does not answer them.
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The university release describes the Australian sea lion as endangered and gives an estimated population of about 12,000 animals. That figure comes from the 2026 release. Check it against a current conservation assessment before treating it as a present-day count.
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Lead researcher Professor Christine Erbe of Curtin’s Centre for Marine Science and Technology put the logic plainly: “Before we can understand whether a noise is affecting an animal, we need to know whether it can hear that noise in the first place.” Sea lions depend on hearing for communication, finding food, navigation, and detecting threats, so a clear picture of their hearing is a prerequisite for judging how noise might interfere with those tasks.
What the study does and does not establish
| Question | What the 2026 Curtin and Taronga study establishes | What remains open |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing sensitivity in air | Both species were most sensitive near 3.2 kHz, based on four captive animals at Taronga Zoo Sydney | Full audiograms and individual results are in the papers, not the release; generalisation to wild populations is not stated |
| Hearing underwater | Not measured in these tests | Underwater hearing thresholds are unknown from this work |
| Human-made noise on land | For long-nosed fur seals, many boat, ship, aircraft, train, and construction sounds would be audible when hauled out | Whether audible sounds cause disturbance, behavioural change, or hearing damage is not established |
| Australian sea lion population | Estimated at about 12,000 animals (Curtin University, 2026) | Current status should be checked against a up-to-date conservation assessment |
What comes next
Dr Pitcher identified the next step: “We now know what these animals can hear in air. The next step is to understand how noise affects them under water, and when it begins to interfere with their behaviour or hearing.” Until that work is published, the study supports a narrow conclusion: these two species of Australian pinnipeds hear best around 3.2 kHz in air, and many human-made sounds are audible to fur seals on land. It does not, by itself, establish that those sounds are harmful.
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Readers who encounter claims that a boat or construction project “affects seals” should ask which of the two questions the claim answers: whether the sound can be heard, or whether it changes behaviour or hearing. The 2026 study answers only the first, and only in air.
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