Sensory biology in a changing world : multisensory systems and interdisciplinary collaboration
(2026) In Journal of Experimental Biology 229.- Abstract
Animals have evolved multiple sensory systems that can acquire environmental information guiding their behaviour, allowing them to adapt physiological parameters to current conditions. However, over the past century, anthropogenic changes have increasingly made information on environmental conditions less reliable, by introducing novel elements (such as synthetic chemicals or artificial light), by altering environmental parameters such as temperature, and by introducing fluctuations. Animals using multimodal information perceived through multiple senses may be more resilient to changes, as they can adjust their sensory strategy, giving more weight to information channels that are less disturbed than others. In this Commentary, we... (More)
Animals have evolved multiple sensory systems that can acquire environmental information guiding their behaviour, allowing them to adapt physiological parameters to current conditions. However, over the past century, anthropogenic changes have increasingly made information on environmental conditions less reliable, by introducing novel elements (such as synthetic chemicals or artificial light), by altering environmental parameters such as temperature, and by introducing fluctuations. Animals using multimodal information perceived through multiple senses may be more resilient to changes, as they can adjust their sensory strategy, giving more weight to information channels that are less disturbed than others. In this Commentary, we propose that to better understand how animals are affected by disturbed access to sensory information that is caused by anthropogenic influences, sensory biologists need to study all developmental stages of a wide range of species, and include entire ecosystems in their thinking. Comparative, interdisciplinary studies will be increasingly important if we are to understand and mitigate the sensory consequences of anthropogenic changes for animals.
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- author
- Kelber, Almut LU ; Gilmour, Kathleen M. and Sane, Sanjay P.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Anthropogenic disruption, Multisensory information, Sensory perception
- in
- Journal of Experimental Biology
- volume
- 229
- article number
- jeb251786
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- The Company of Biologists Ltd
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105029888373
- pmid:41668653
- ISSN
- 0022-0949
- DOI
- 10.1242/jeb.251786
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 04609420-a7ae-4410-b5a5-3f99fbe95f61
- date added to LUP
- 2026-04-17 12:19:25
- date last changed
- 2026-04-17 12:19:55
@article{04609420-a7ae-4410-b5a5-3f99fbe95f61,
abstract = {{<p>Animals have evolved multiple sensory systems that can acquire environmental information guiding their behaviour, allowing them to adapt physiological parameters to current conditions. However, over the past century, anthropogenic changes have increasingly made information on environmental conditions less reliable, by introducing novel elements (such as synthetic chemicals or artificial light), by altering environmental parameters such as temperature, and by introducing fluctuations. Animals using multimodal information perceived through multiple senses may be more resilient to changes, as they can adjust their sensory strategy, giving more weight to information channels that are less disturbed than others. In this Commentary, we propose that to better understand how animals are affected by disturbed access to sensory information that is caused by anthropogenic influences, sensory biologists need to study all developmental stages of a wide range of species, and include entire ecosystems in their thinking. Comparative, interdisciplinary studies will be increasingly important if we are to understand and mitigate the sensory consequences of anthropogenic changes for animals.</p>}},
author = {{Kelber, Almut and Gilmour, Kathleen M. and Sane, Sanjay P.}},
issn = {{0022-0949}},
keywords = {{Anthropogenic disruption; Multisensory information; Sensory perception}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
series = {{Journal of Experimental Biology}},
title = {{Sensory biology in a changing world : multisensory systems and interdisciplinary collaboration}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.251786}},
doi = {{10.1242/jeb.251786}},
volume = {{229}},
year = {{2026}},
}