The ontogeny of decision-making in an eavesdropping predator

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Animal Behavior
• Bioacoustics

Background:

• Predators utilize prey-emitted signals for foraging, with sexual advertisement calls being a key cue for eavesdropping predators.
• The ontogeny of predatory behavior is crucial for survival, yet developmental responses to prey cues remain understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental changes in fringe-lipped bats' (Trachops cirrhosus) responses to acoustic cues of anuran prey.
• To determine how prey palatability and acoustic characteristics influence foraging decisions in juvenile and adult bats.

Main Methods:

• Recorded and analyzed the acoustic advertisement calls of anuran prey.
• Measured the behavioral responses of juvenile and adult fringe-lipped bats to these calls in a field setting.
• Correlated bat responses with prey species, palatability, and acoustic features like body size.

Main Results:

• Adult fringe-lipped bats modulated foraging behavior based on prey palatability cues.
• Juvenile bats showed less discrimination based on palatability, responding strongly to poisonous toads and less to palatable frogs.
• Both age groups attended to acoustic cues related to prey body size, suggesting a developmental refinement of auditory foraging preferences.

Conclusions:

• Prey avoidance in fringe-lipped bats is learned through experience, with palatability discrimination developing over time.
• Acoustic preferences in eavesdropping predators align with advantageous foraging outcomes through developmental processes.
• This study provides the first evidence of developmental plasticity refining decision-making in a wild, eavesdropping predator.