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Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus nippon) suppress clutter noise through echolocation frequency control to detect prey
Soshi Yoshida1, Haruhito Mastumoto2, Kohta I Kobayasi2
1Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Japan. soshi.yoshida0@gmail.com.
Communications Biology
|May 19, 2026
Summary
Horseshoe bats adjust echolocation call frequencies to improve prey detection by creating a silent spectral window, enhancing their ability to find food in noisy environments.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Bioacoustics
- Sensory ecology
Background:
- Efficient information acquisition is crucial for survival.
- Active sensing species adapt self-generated signals to overcome sensory challenges.
- Horseshoe bats use echolocation for navigation and prey detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of frequency adjustments in horseshoe bat echolocation calls.
- To understand how bats enhance prey detection in cluttered environments.
Main Methods:
- Phantom echo playback experiments.
- On-board recordings of echolocation calls during flight and prey capture.
- Noise playback experiments.
Main Results:
- Horseshoe bats lower echolocation call frequencies to stabilize echoes at a reference frequency (fref) despite Doppler shifts.
- This frequency adjustment creates a "silent spectral window" by shifting background clutter below fref.
- Spectral glints from moth wings are detected within this window, aiding prey capture.
Conclusions:
- Horseshoe bat echolocation serves a dual purpose: aligning echoes with the most sensitive frequency range and suppressing background noise.
- This strategy enhances prey detection by creating a clear spectral window for identifying prey signals.
- Sensory systems are shaped for reliable information extraction in challenging, cluttered environments.
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