Transfer Entropy Analysis of Interactions between Bats Using Position and Echolocation Data

Area of Science:

• Animal behavior
• Bioacoustics
• Neuroethology

Background:

• Many animal species exhibit collective behavior, with bats uniquely using echolocation for navigation.
• Group echolocation poses risks of signal interference, prompting evolved strategies in bats.
• Previous studies analyzed bat movement or echolocation separately, not their interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of acoustic sensing in the coordinated flight of bat pairs.
• To quantify the interaction between bats using information theory and echolocation data.
• To determine if echolocation influences bat pair flight dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Collected field data from gray bats (Myotis grisescens) using cameras and microphones.
• Applied transfer entropy, an information-theoretic measure, to analyze bat interactions.
• Analyzed time series data of bat speed and turning behavior in conjunction with echolocation.

Main Results:

• Evidence of information transfer between bats flying in pairs was found.
• Unidirectional information transfer was observed in certain data subsets.
• This suggests potential leader-follower interactions influencing coordinated flight.

Conclusions:

• Acoustic sensing plays a significant role in bat pair coordination.
• Information transfer dynamics, potentially mediated by echolocation, shape collective bat flight.
• Findings support the existence of leader-follower interactions in bat pairs.