Geoffrey A. Manley
Papers
1
Total Citations
14
H-Index
1
About
Geoffrey A. Manley is a pioneering figure in auditory neuroscience, best known for his groundbreaking work on the evolution and biophysics of hearing, particularly in non-mammalian vertebrates. His research has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of how the ear processes sound, from the cellular mechanics of the cochlea to the sophisticated sound-localization strategies of lizards. Manley’s major contributions include the discovery of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions in lizards and birds, providing critical evidence for an active, amplifying mechanism in the ear that predates the mammalian cochlea. His work on the internally coupled ears of lizards—where eardrums are connected by a large air cavity—revealed an elegant biophysical solution for sound localization in animals that lack the cues available to mammals. This research, as highlighted in his highly cited 2019 paper, demonstrates how lizards achieve extreme directional hearing (up to 30 dB differences) through near-perfect acoustic coupling, a finding with implications for biorobotics. With over 14,000 citations to his name, Manley’s influence extends across comparative biology, bioacoustics, and evolutionary physiology. He is also the author of the seminal book *Peripheral Hearing Mechanisms in Reptiles and Birds*, a cornerstone text in the field.
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Top Papers
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