Call production and wingbeat coupling is flexible and species-specific in echolocating bats

Echolocation and flight are two key behavioral innovations that contribute to the evolutionary success and diversification of bats, which are classified phylogenetically into two suborders: Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera. Considerable research has identified a coupling between call production and wingbeat in flying bats, although only a few have quantified the relationship and all were restricted to bats from the suborder Yangochiroptera. Here, we quantitatively compared the coupling between call production and wingbeat in two representative species of bats, Hipposideros pratti of the suborder Yinpterochiroptera and Myotis pilosus of the suborder Yangochiroptera, under identical experimental settings. We found that (1) both species exhibited the temporal coupling of call production and wingbeat; (2) the degree of coupling is species-specific, with M. pilosus showing a tighter coupling between call timing and wingbeat cycle than H. pratti; (3) the coupling is a plastic trait, as evidenced by the effect of environmental clutter in H. pratti; and (4) there is no evidence that the coupling of call production and wingbeat limits the source level control in either species. We suggest that the coupling between call production and wingbeat is flexible and species-specific, which may not compromise precise echolocation control in bats.