Data from: How much does nasal cavity morphology matter? Patterns and rates of olfactory airflow in phyllostomid bats

The morphology of the nasal cavity in mammals with a good sense of smell
includes features that are thought to improve olfactory airflow, such as a
dorsal conduit that delivers odours quickly to the olfactory mucosa, an
enlarged olfactory recess at the back of the airway, and a clear
separation of the olfactory and respiratory regions of the nose. The link
between these features and having a good sense of smell has been
established by functional examinations of a handful of distantly related
mammalian species. In this paper, we provide the first detailed
examination of olfactory airflow in a group of closely related species
that nevertheless vary in their sense of smell. We study six species of
phyllostomid bats that have different airway morphologies and foraging
ecologies, which have been linked to differences in olfactory ability or
reliance. We hypothesize that differences in morphology correlate with
differences in the patterns and rates of airflow, which in turn are
consistent with dietary differences. To compare species, we make
qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the patterns and rates of
airflow through the olfactory region during both inhalation and exhalation
across the six species. Contrary to our expectations, we find no clear
differences among species in either the patterns of airflow through the
airway or in rates of flow through the olfactory region. By and large,
olfactory airflow seems to be conserved across species, suggesting that
morphological differences appear to be driven by other mechanical demands
on the snout, such as breathing and feeding. Olfactory ability may depend
on other aspects of the system, such as the neurobiological processing of
odours that work within the existing morphology imposed by other
functional demands on the nasal cavity.