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Related Concept Videos

Echo01:06

Echo

The human ear cannot distinguish between two sources of sound if they happen to reach within a specific time interval, typically 0.1 seconds apart. More than this, and they are perceived as separate sources.
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.The structures that arise from convergent evolution are called analogous structures. They are similar in function even if they are dissimilar in structure. Further, structures can be analogous while also...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Determining Ultrasonic Vocalization Preferences in Mice using a Two-choice Playback Test
08:16

Determining Ultrasonic Vocalization Preferences in Mice using a Two-choice Playback Test

Published on: September 3, 2015

How greater mouse-eared bats deal with ambiguous echoic scenes.

M L Melcón1, Y Yovel, A Denzinger

  • 1Tierphysiologie, Institut für Neurobiologie, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. marumelcon@gmail.com

Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
|July 24, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Echolocating bats, like the greater mouse-eared bat, adjust their call timing to distinguish real targets from confusing "virtual" targets. This helps them navigate accurately by differentiating stable real objects from echoes that seem to move.

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Area of Science:

  • Bioacoustics
  • Animal Behavior
  • Sensory Ecology

Background:

  • Echolocating bats must accurately assign returning echoes to their emitted calls.
  • Failure to do so can lead to the perception of virtual targets, creating navigational challenges.
  • Ambiguity in echo assignment is heightened by short, constant intervals between bat calls.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how greater mouse-eared bats resolve echo-assignment ambiguity.
  • To determine if bats alter their vocalization patterns to distinguish real from virtual targets.

Main Methods:

  • Observing the echolocating behavior of greater mouse-eared bats.
  • Analyzing pulse intervals between bat calls, particularly before landing maneuvers.
  • Correlating changes in pulse intervals with the presence of real and virtual targets.

Main Results:

  • Greater mouse-eared bats vary their pulse intervals more frequently to manage echo ambiguity.
  • Bats reduce the number of calls in terminal groups before landing.
  • This strategy effectively separates real targets (constant position) from virtual targets (jittering position).

Conclusions:

  • Bats employ dynamic pulse interval adjustments as a strategy to resolve echo-assignment ambiguity.
  • This behavioral adaptation allows bats to differentiate between actual and perceived targets for improved navigation.
  • The findings offer insights into the sophisticated sensory processing capabilities of echolocating bats.