Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Similar flight performance but sex-specific mitochondrial responses in free-flying pigeons.

Biology letters·2026
Same author

Distance to central-place drives species-specific habitat selection in sympatric insectivorous birds.

Movement ecology·2026
Same author

Agricultural landscapes reshape progeny through transcriptomic and physiological changes.

Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology·2026
Same author

The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience: Studying how the brain interacts with the world.

Neuron·2026
Same author

Sparse-to-dense coding transformation between hippocampal areas CA3 and CA1.

Nature·2026
Same author

Species-specific aquatic habitat use predicts pesticide residues in feces of insectivorous birds and bats.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 30, 2026

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging
09:56

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging

Published on: April 30, 2019

Large-scale navigational map in a mammal.

Asaf Tsoar1, Ran Nathan, Yoav Bartan

  • 1Movement Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. asaf.tsoar@mail.huji.ac.il

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 17, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Egyptian fruit bats navigate long distances using a cognitive map, returning to familiar trees. Displaced bats demonstrate homing abilities, suggesting reliance on visual landmarks for navigation outside familiar areas.

More Related Videos

Ultrasound Localization Microscopy for Super-Resolution Mapping of the Rodent Brain Microvasculature
10:36

Ultrasound Localization Microscopy for Super-Resolution Mapping of the Rodent Brain Microvasculature

Published on: November 14, 2025

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain
05:55

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 30, 2026

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging
09:56

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging

Published on: April 30, 2019

Ultrasound Localization Microscopy for Super-Resolution Mapping of the Rodent Brain Microvasculature
10:36

Ultrasound Localization Microscopy for Super-Resolution Mapping of the Rodent Brain Microvasculature

Published on: November 14, 2025

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain
05:55

Modeling the Functional Network for Spatial Navigation in the Human Brain

Published on: October 13, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Zoology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Navigation is crucial for survival across species.
  • Mammalian navigation mechanisms remain poorly understood compared to other animal groups.
  • Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) were chosen for this study.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the long-range navigation mechanisms in mammals.
  • To determine how Egyptian fruit bats orient themselves over large distances.
  • To test hypotheses regarding navigation strategies like beaconing, route-following, and path-integration.

Main Methods:

  • High-resolution global positioning system (GPS) tracking of Egyptian fruit bats.
  • Displacement experiments of bats from their home caves to unfamiliar locations.
  • Observation of bat homing behavior and flight paths after displacement.

Main Results:

  • Bats exhibited fast, straight commuting flights between their cave and specific fruit trees.
  • Displaced bats (44 km) homed directly to known goal locations, excluding simple route-following or path-integration.
  • Bats released in a crater (84 km) showed initial disorientation but eventually homed, indicating reliance on distal visual landmarks.
  • Bats released at the crater's edge homed directly, further supporting visual landmark navigation.

Conclusions:

  • Egyptian fruit bats possess a large-scale cognitive map for navigation within visually familiar territories.
  • These bats can navigate back to familiar locations even when translocated outside their visually familiar area.
  • Navigation in mammals, exemplified by these bats, appears to integrate cognitive maps with landmark-based strategies.