Dynamics of the echolocation beam during prey pursuit in aerial hawking bats.
(2015) In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112(26). p.8118-8123- Abstract
- In the evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, measures and countermeasures continuously evolve to increase survival on both sides. Bats and moths are prime examples. When exposed to intense ultrasound, eared moths perform dramatic escape behaviors. Vespertilionid and rhinolophid bats broaden their echolocation beam in the final stage of pursuit, presumably as a countermeasure to keep evading moths within their "acoustic field of view." In this study, we investigated if dynamic beam broadening is a general property of echolocation when catching moving prey. We recorded three species of emballonurid bats, Saccopteryx bilineata, Saccopteryx leptura, and Rhynchonycteris naso, catching airborne insects in the field. The study shows... (More)
- In the evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, measures and countermeasures continuously evolve to increase survival on both sides. Bats and moths are prime examples. When exposed to intense ultrasound, eared moths perform dramatic escape behaviors. Vespertilionid and rhinolophid bats broaden their echolocation beam in the final stage of pursuit, presumably as a countermeasure to keep evading moths within their "acoustic field of view." In this study, we investigated if dynamic beam broadening is a general property of echolocation when catching moving prey. We recorded three species of emballonurid bats, Saccopteryx bilineata, Saccopteryx leptura, and Rhynchonycteris naso, catching airborne insects in the field. The study shows that S. bilineata and S. leptura maintain a constant beam shape during the entire prey pursuit, whereas R. naso broadens the beam by lowering the peak call frequency from 100 kHz during search and approach to 67 kHz in the buzz. Surprisingly, both Saccopteryx bats emit calls with very high energy throughout the pursuit, up to 60 times more than R. naso and Myotis daubentonii (a similar sized vespertilionid), providing them with as much, or more, peripheral "vision" than the vespertilionids, but ensonifying objects far ahead suggesting more clutter. Thus, beam broadening is not a fundamental property of the echolocation system. However, based on the results, we hypothesize that increased peripheral detection is crucial to all aerial hawking bats in the final stages of prey pursuit and speculate that beam broadening is a feature characterizing more advanced echolocation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7485550
- author
- Jakobsen, Lasse LU ; Olsen, Mads Nedergaard and Surlykke, Annemarie
- organization
- publishing date
- 2015
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- perception, buzz, echolocation, bat, directionality
- in
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- volume
- 112
- issue
- 26
- pages
- 8118 - 8123
- publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000357079400065
- pmid:26080398
- scopus:84937882854
- pmid:26080398
- ISSN
- 1091-6490
- DOI
- 10.1073/pnas.1419943112
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 21d6544a-6513-4bce-a2ec-06dec3a82d8d (old id 7485550)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:57:38
- date last changed
- 2022-03-05 00:26:02
@article{21d6544a-6513-4bce-a2ec-06dec3a82d8d,
abstract = {{In the evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, measures and countermeasures continuously evolve to increase survival on both sides. Bats and moths are prime examples. When exposed to intense ultrasound, eared moths perform dramatic escape behaviors. Vespertilionid and rhinolophid bats broaden their echolocation beam in the final stage of pursuit, presumably as a countermeasure to keep evading moths within their "acoustic field of view." In this study, we investigated if dynamic beam broadening is a general property of echolocation when catching moving prey. We recorded three species of emballonurid bats, Saccopteryx bilineata, Saccopteryx leptura, and Rhynchonycteris naso, catching airborne insects in the field. The study shows that S. bilineata and S. leptura maintain a constant beam shape during the entire prey pursuit, whereas R. naso broadens the beam by lowering the peak call frequency from 100 kHz during search and approach to 67 kHz in the buzz. Surprisingly, both Saccopteryx bats emit calls with very high energy throughout the pursuit, up to 60 times more than R. naso and Myotis daubentonii (a similar sized vespertilionid), providing them with as much, or more, peripheral "vision" than the vespertilionids, but ensonifying objects far ahead suggesting more clutter. Thus, beam broadening is not a fundamental property of the echolocation system. However, based on the results, we hypothesize that increased peripheral detection is crucial to all aerial hawking bats in the final stages of prey pursuit and speculate that beam broadening is a feature characterizing more advanced echolocation.}},
author = {{Jakobsen, Lasse and Olsen, Mads Nedergaard and Surlykke, Annemarie}},
issn = {{1091-6490}},
keywords = {{perception; buzz; echolocation; bat; directionality}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{26}},
pages = {{8118--8123}},
publisher = {{National Academy of Sciences}},
series = {{Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}},
title = {{Dynamics of the echolocation beam during prey pursuit in aerial hawking bats.}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419943112}},
doi = {{10.1073/pnas.1419943112}},
volume = {{112}},
year = {{2015}},
}