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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
08:34
A Simple Behavioral Assay for Testing Visual Function in Xenopus laevis
Published on: June 12, 2014
Common principle of guidance by echolocation and vision
D N Lee1, F R van der Weel, T Hitchcock
1Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
|December 1, 1992
Summary
Bats use echolocation for graceful flight, similar to birds using vision. This study found bats employ a constant
Area of Science:
- Bioacoustics
- Animal Behavior
- Neuroethology
Background:
- Bats navigate complex environments using echolocation, akin to how birds use vision.
- Understanding sensory guidance principles in different species is crucial for comparative biology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if bats utilize a consistent sensory control strategy for braking during flight.
- To compare echolocation-based braking in bats with visually-based braking in humans and birds.
Main Methods:
- Analyzing flight trajectories of Australian ghost bats (Macroderma gigas) through a narrow aperture.
- Comparing bat braking behavior with eyes covered (relying on echolocation) and uncovered.
- Examining the tau-invariant control strategy, where tau = S/Ṡ, with S being a sensory variable.
Main Results:
- Bat flight data supports the use of a tau-invariant control strategy for braking.
- This strategy, previously observed in visual control by humans and birds, is also applied using echolocation by bats.
- The specific echolocation variable (e.g., echo-delay, echo-intensity) used for tau control remains inconclusive.
Conclusions:
- Bats employ a simplified, tau-invariant control mechanism for braking, leveraging echolocation.
- This suggests common sensory guidance principles across different sensory modalities (vision and echolocation) and taxa.
- Further research is needed to pinpoint the exact echolocation parameter governing this braking control.
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