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A mechanism for antiphonal echolocation by Free-tailed bats.

Jenna Jarvis¹, Kirsten M Bohn, Jedediah Tressler

¹Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3258.

Animal Behaviour

|April 27, 2010

Summary

Bats adjust their echolocation timing to avoid acoustic interference. This study shows bats suppress and then rebound echolocation calls in response to external stimuli, demonstrating adaptive acoustic behavior.

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Area of Science:

Bioacoustics
Animal Behavior
Neuroethology

Background:

Bats are highly social animals that rely on echolocation for navigation and foraging.
Echolocation calls in social settings can interfere with conspecifics, necessitating strategies to mitigate acoustic overlap.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if bats alter their echolocation pulse timing to avoid acoustic interference from other bats.
To test the hypothesis that bats employ temporal adjustments in echolocation to minimize overlap with external acoustic stimuli.

Main Methods:

Free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) were studied in a laboratory setting.
Artificial, regularly repeating acoustic stimuli were used to elicit responses in bat echolocation.
Pulse emission timing and patterns were analyzed in response to controlled auditory stimuli.

Main Results:

Bats exhibited a phase-locked temporal pattern in pulse emissions, suppressing calls for over 60 ms after stimulus onset.
A compensatory rebound phase in calling was observed, with timing and amplitude dependent on stimulus patterns.
Responses were non-adapting and showed reduced sensitivity to acoustic variations in stimuli.

Conclusions:

External acoustic stimuli can induce significant, adaptive shifts in echolocation pulse timing in bats.
Bats actively manage their echolocation timing to reduce interference, highlighting sophisticated acoustic communication strategies.
These findings provide the first quantitative evidence of stimulus-driven temporal alterations in bat echolocation.