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Variability of the approach phase of landing echolocating Greater Mouse-eared bats

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Abstract

The approach phase of landing vespertilionid bats ends with a group of calls, which either consists of buzz I alone or buzz I and buzz II. To understand the possible role of buzz II, we trained Myotis myotis to land on a vertical grid, and compared the flight and echolocation behavior during approach in trials with and without buzz II. During the approach, we did not find any differences in the echolocation behavior until the end of buzz I which indicated whether buzz II was emitted or not. However, bats flying from the periphery of the flight channel, such that they had to make a small turn at the very last moment, finished the sequence with a buzz II. Bats flying on a rather stereotyped trajectory near the center of the flight channel without last instant corrections emitted buzz I alone. Our results indicate that buzz II occurred only on trajectories that implied a higher risk to fail at landing. The information delivered by buzz II reaches the bat too late to be used for landing. Therefore, we hypothesize that buzz II may help the bats to evaluate unsuccessful attempts and to eventually react adequately.

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Abbreviations

SPL:

Sound pressure level

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Dr. P. Stilz for writing the program used for sound parameter analysis, Dr. P. Pilz for useful comments and Dr. S. A. Kim for revision of English. We also thank I. Körner for assisting with the reconstruction of the flight paths. This project was supported by SFB 550, and M.L.M. was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service. The experiments reported here adhere to the “Principles of animal care” (publication No. 86-23, revised 1985 of the NIH) and also comply with the current German animal protection law. Bats were held in the animal facilities at the University of Tübingen (approved by the Regierungspräsidium Tübingen).

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  1. Tierphysiologie, Zoologisches Institut, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Mariana L. Melcón, Hans-Ulrich Schnitzler & Annette Denzinger

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  1. Mariana L. Melcón
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  2. Hans-Ulrich Schnitzler
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  3. Annette Denzinger
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Correspondence to Mariana L. Melcón.

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Melcón, M.L., Schnitzler, HU. & Denzinger, A. Variability of the approach phase of landing echolocating Greater Mouse-eared bats. J Comp Physiol A 195, 69–77 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-008-0383-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-008-0383-6

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