Most sensory research has focused on looking at one modality at a time due to the difficulty of presenting, quantifying and integrating multisensory input. Since animals must continually integrate a broad suite of sensory input, restricting studies to a single sense prevents an understanding of complementary and alternating roles of the senses and of the sensory switching that occurs at different phases, or scales, of a behavior.

The Sensory Biology and Behavior Program is designed not only to cross taxonomic lines to study sensory and cognitive processes and capabilities in a variety of marine species, but it also brings together researchers with different expertise to better understand not only how each sense works in each species, but how each sense works with a species' other senses.

• Manatee Research: (Mote principal: Joe Gaspard, MS) The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is considered endangered under federal and state laws. Because they live in busy coastal and inshore waters that are also frequented by boats, understanding how manatees navigate their environment is vital to protecting the species from extinction.
  Since 1998, researchers at Mote have been studying how manatees perceive and navigate their environment, including how well manatees see and hear and whether they can tell what directions sounds are coming from. Knowing how well manatees locate sound sources — including boat engines — and understanding manatees' reactions to those sounds should help wildlife managers more effectively protect them against collisions with watercraft, which kill and injure many manatees each year.
  This research is conducted with Hugh and Buffett, resident manatees in The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory. Hugh and Buffett are the only manatees in the world trained to participate in research projects and husbandry behaviors. By working with them, Mote researchers have unlocked new information about manatee sight, hearing and sense of touch.
  This project is conducted in partnership with researchers from New College of Florida, the University of South Florida, the University of Florida and other organizations who have expertise in biology, neurobiology, marine bioaccoustics and marine mammal communication and cognition. The research is funded in part by the National Science Foundation.
  
• Shark Research: (Mote principal: Jayne Gardiner, Ph.D.) Sharks are large, mobile predators with multiple, complex sensory systems. Recent groundbreaking research conducted at Mote produced unprecedented insights into how sharks integrate information from the olfactory, visual, mechanoreceptive and electrosensory systems for detecting, tracking, orienting to, and ultimately capturing prey in a laboratory setting.
  This research has shown that sharks sniff out prey by sensing small differences in when the smell hits each nostril — a novel discovery about how sea creatures follow their noses. Scientists have suggested that sharks orient on scents based on how strongly the scent permeates each nostril. But this research has revealed that scent strength doesn't matter as much as timing.
  This finding may benefit shark conservation by revealing how sharks interact with their environment and, in time, may improve the design of underwater robots made to sniff out oil and other ocean pollutants.
  These studies have been conducted in partnership with the University of South Florida and Boston University and funded by the National Science Foundation.
• Northern Right Whales: (Mote principal: William Tavolga, Ph.D.) Program scientists working in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries and Florida State University, are also tagging northern right whales in the Bay of Fundy with a suction-cup mounted acoustic data logger tag to learn how these highly endangered whales respond to the sounds of approaching vessels, one of the worst threats these animals face.
  
• Sea Turtles
• Dolphins
• Fish (other than sharks)