Directionality of nose-emitted echolocation calls from bats without a nose leaf (Plecotus auritus)
(2018) In Journal of Experimental Biology 221(3).- Abstract
All echolocating bats and whales measured to date emit a directional bio-sonar beam that affords them a number of advantages over an omni-directional beam, i.e. reduced clutter, increased source level and inherent directional information. In this study, we investigated the importance of directional sound emission for navigation through echolocation by measuring the sonar beam of brown long-eared bats, Plecotus auritus. Plecotus auritus emits sound through the nostrils but has no external appendages to readily facilitate a directional sound emission as found in most nose emitters. The study shows that P. auritus, despite lacking an external focusing apparatus, emits a directional echolocation beam (directivity index=13 dB) and that the... (More)
All echolocating bats and whales measured to date emit a directional bio-sonar beam that affords them a number of advantages over an omni-directional beam, i.e. reduced clutter, increased source level and inherent directional information. In this study, we investigated the importance of directional sound emission for navigation through echolocation by measuring the sonar beam of brown long-eared bats, Plecotus auritus. Plecotus auritus emits sound through the nostrils but has no external appendages to readily facilitate a directional sound emission as found in most nose emitters. The study shows that P. auritus, despite lacking an external focusing apparatus, emits a directional echolocation beam (directivity index=13 dB) and that the beam is more directional vertically (-6 dB angle at 22 deg) than horizontally (-6 dB angle at 35 deg). Using a simple numerical model, we found that the recorded emission pattern is achievable if P. auritus emits sound through the nostrils as well as the mouth. The study thus supports the hypothesis that a directional echolocation beam is important for perception through echolocation and we propose that animals with similarly non-directional emitter characteristics may facilitate a directional sound emission by emitting sound through both the nostrils and the mouth.
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- author
- Jakobsen, Lasse LU ; Hallam, John ; Moss, Cynthia F. and Hedenström, Anders LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018-02-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Acoustic signals, Animal bioacoustics, Biosonar, Chiroptera
- in
- Journal of Experimental Biology
- volume
- 221
- issue
- 3
- article number
- 171926
- publisher
- The Company of Biologists Ltd
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85042023945
- pmid:29222128
- ISSN
- 0022-0949
- DOI
- 10.1242/jeb.171926
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3c80f305-7e2f-4f47-88fe-40f1723c81df
- date added to LUP
- 2018-03-07 08:58:20
- date last changed
- 2024-04-01 02:15:14
@article{3c80f305-7e2f-4f47-88fe-40f1723c81df,
abstract = {{<p>All echolocating bats and whales measured to date emit a directional bio-sonar beam that affords them a number of advantages over an omni-directional beam, i.e. reduced clutter, increased source level and inherent directional information. In this study, we investigated the importance of directional sound emission for navigation through echolocation by measuring the sonar beam of brown long-eared bats, Plecotus auritus. Plecotus auritus emits sound through the nostrils but has no external appendages to readily facilitate a directional sound emission as found in most nose emitters. The study shows that P. auritus, despite lacking an external focusing apparatus, emits a directional echolocation beam (directivity index=13 dB) and that the beam is more directional vertically (-6 dB angle at 22 deg) than horizontally (-6 dB angle at 35 deg). Using a simple numerical model, we found that the recorded emission pattern is achievable if P. auritus emits sound through the nostrils as well as the mouth. The study thus supports the hypothesis that a directional echolocation beam is important for perception through echolocation and we propose that animals with similarly non-directional emitter characteristics may facilitate a directional sound emission by emitting sound through both the nostrils and the mouth.</p>}},
author = {{Jakobsen, Lasse and Hallam, John and Moss, Cynthia F. and Hedenström, Anders}},
issn = {{0022-0949}},
keywords = {{Acoustic signals; Animal bioacoustics; Biosonar; Chiroptera}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{02}},
number = {{3}},
publisher = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
series = {{Journal of Experimental Biology}},
title = {{Directionality of nose-emitted echolocation calls from bats without a nose leaf (Plecotus auritus)}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.171926}},
doi = {{10.1242/jeb.171926}},
volume = {{221}},
year = {{2018}},
}