Clutter and conspecifics: a comparison of their influence on echolocation and flight behaviour in Daubenton's bat, Myotis daubentonii.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
; 201(3): 295-304, 2015 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25552318
ABSTRACT
We compared the influence of conspecifics and clutter on echolocation and flight speed in the bat Myotis daubentonii. In a large room, actual pairs of bats exhibited greater disparity in peak frequency (PF), minimum frequency (F MIN) and call period compared to virtual pairs of bats, each flying alone. Greater inter-individual disparity in PF and F MIN may reduce acoustic interference and/or increase signal self-recognition in the presence of conspecifics. Bats flying alone in a smaller flight room, to simulate a more cluttered habitat as compared to the large flight room, produced calls of shorter duration and call period, lower intensity, and flew at lower speeds. In cluttered space, shorter call duration should reduce masking, while shorter call period equals more updates to the bat's auditory scene. Lower intensity likely reflects reduced range detection requirements, reduced speed the demands of flying in clutter. Our results show that some changes (e.g. PF separation) are associated with conspecifics, others with closed habitat (e.g. reduced call intensity). However, we demonstrate that call duration, period, and flight speed appear similarly influenced by conspecifics and clutter. We suggest that some changes reduce conspecific interference and/or improve self-recognition, while others demonstrate that bats experience each other like clutter.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Mascaramento Perceptivo
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Percepção Auditiva
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Vocalização Animal
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Quirópteros
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Ecossistema
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Ecolocação
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Voo Animal
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article