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Steering by echolocation: a paradigm of ecological acoustics
D N Lee1, J A Simmons, P A Saillant
1Department of Psychology, University of Edinburg, UK.
Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
|March 1, 1995
Summary
Big brown bats use consistent visual control strategies for landing and catching prey. These natural flight control behaviors, involving time-to-collision (tau) and approach angle, are adapted for different tasks like hand landings or mealworm captures.
Area of Science:
- Animal Behavior
- Biomechanics
- Neuroethology
Background:
- Bats exhibit complex flight capabilities crucial for navigation and foraging.
- Understanding bat flight control provides insights into biological locomotion and sensorimotor systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the flight control strategies of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) during approach tasks.
- To determine if bats employ consistent control laws for different aerial maneuvers.
Main Methods:
- Video analysis of three big brown bats performing landing and prey capture tasks.
- Quantitative analysis of flight parameters including distance, angle, and time-to-collision (tau).
Main Results:
- Bats consistently used the control laws tau (r) = kr and tau (a)/tau (r) = k alpha r for both tasks.
- Specific control parameters (kr, k alpha r, beta min) varied between landing on a hand and catching a mealworm, reflecting task-specific adaptations.
- Hand landings involved vertical approaches and deceleration, while mealworm captures featured shallower angles and constant speeds.
Conclusions:
- Bats utilize a unified control procedure adaptable to different flight behaviors.
- The observed control strategies are likely innate and honed through natural foraging in the wild.
- Sensory inputs such as acoustic information (echo-delay, echo-intensity) and auditory/gravitational senses may inform tau (r) and tau (alpha) calculations.