Summary
Bats of the species Rhinolophus rouxi, Hipposideros lankadiva and Eptesicus fuscus were trained to discriminate between two simultaneously presented artificial insect wingbeat targets moving at different wingbeat rates. During the discrimination trials, R. rouxi, H. lankadiva and E. fuscus emitted long-CF/FM, short-CF/FM and FM echolocation sounds respectively. R. rouxi, H. lankadiva and E. fuscus were able to discriminate a difference in wingbeat rate of 2.7 Hz, 9.2 Hz and 15.8 Hz, respectively, between two simultaneously presented targets at an absolute wingbeat rate of 60 Hz, using a criterion of 75% correct responses.
The performance of the different bat species is correlated with the echolocation signal design used by each species, particularly with the presence and relative duration of a narrowband component preceding a broadband FM component. These results provide behavioral evidence supporting the hypothesis that bats that use CF/FM echolocation sounds have adaptations for the perception of insect wingbeat motion and that long-CF/FM species are more specialized for this task than short-CF/FM species.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- CF :
-
constant frequency
- FM :
-
frequency modulation
References
Bell GP, Fenton MD (1984) The use of Doppler-shifted echoes as a flutter detection and clutter rejection system: the echolocation and feeding behavior of Hipposideros ruber. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 15:109–114
Dalland JI (1965) Hearing sensitivity in bats. Science 150:1185–1186
Emde G von der, Menne D (1989) Discrimination of insect wingbeat-frequencies by the bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. J Comp Physiol A 164:663–671
Emde G von der, Schnitzler HU (1986) Fluttering target detection in hipposiderid bats. J Comp Physiol A 159:765–772
Gellerman LW (1933) Chance orders of alternating stimuli in visual discrimination experiments. J Gen Psychol 42:205–208
Goldman LJ, Henson OW Jr (1977) Prey recognition and selection by the constant frequency bat, Pteronotus p. parnellii. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2:411–419
Grinnell AD (1963) The neurophysiology of audition in bats: intensity and frequency parameters. J Physiol (Lond) 167:38–66
Grinnell AD (1967) Mechanisms of overcoming interference in echolocating animals. In: Busnel RG (ed) Animal sonar systems. Lab Physiol Acoust, Jouy-en-Josas, France, pp 451–481
Grinnell AD (1970) Comparative auditory neurophysiology of neotropical bats employing different echolocation signals. Z Vergl Physiol 68:117–153
Grinnell AD (1973) Neural processing mechanisms in echolocating bats, correlated with differences in emitted sounds. J Acoust Soc Am 54:147–156
Grinnell AD, Hagiwara S (1972) Adaptations of the auditory nervous system for echolocation. Studies of New Guinea bats. Z Vergl Physiol 76:41–81
Habersetzer J, Vogler B (1983) Discrimination of surface-structured targets by the echolocating bat Myotis myotis during flight. J Comp Physiol 152:275–282
Habersetzer J, Schuller G, Neuweiler G (1984) Foraging behavior and Doppler shift compensation in echolocating hipposiderid bats, Hipposideros bicolor and Hipposideros speoris. J Comp Physiol A 155:559–567
Henson OW Jr (1971) The ear and audition. In: Wimsatt W (ed) The biology of bats vol 2. Academic Press, New York, pp 181–263
Link A, Marimuthu G, Neuweiler G (1986) Movement as a specific stimulus for prey catching behavior in rhinolophid and hipposiderid bats. J Comp Physiol A 159:403–413
Neuweiler G (1970) Neurophysiologische Untersuchungen zum Echoortungssystem der Großen Hufeisennase, Rhinolophusferrumequinum. Z Vergl Physiol 67:273–306
Neuweiler G (1983) Echolocation and adaptivity to ecological constraints. In: Huber F, Markl H (eds) Neuroethology and behavioral physiology. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 280–302
Neuweiler G, Schuller G, Schnitzler HU (1971) On- and off-responses in the inferior colliculus of the greater horseshoe bat to pure tones. Z Vergl Physiol 74:57–63
Neuweiler G, Bruns V, Schuller G (1980) Ears adapted for the detection of motion, or how echolocating bats have exploited the capacities of the mammalian auditory system. J Acoust Soc Am 68:741–753
Neuweiler G, Singh S, Sripathi K (1984) Audiograms of a South Indian bat community. J Comp Physiol A 154:133–142
Neuweiler G, Metzner W, Heilmann U, Rübsamen R, Eckrich M, Costa HH (1987) Foraging behavior and echolocation in the rufous horseshoe bat Rhinolophus rouxi of Sri Lanka. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 20:53–67
Pollak GD, Henson OW Jr, Novick A (1972) Cochlear microphonic audiograms in the ‘pure tone’ bat Chilonycteris parnellii. Science 176:66–68
Pye JD (1967) Theories of sonar systems and their application to biological organisms (discussion). In: Busnel RG (ed) Animal sonar systems. Lab Physiol Acoust. CNRS Jouy-en-Josas, France, pp 1121–1136
Roverud RC (1987) The processing of echolocation sound elements in bats: a behavioural approach. In: Fenton MD, Racey P, Rayner JM (eds) Recent advances in the study of bats. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 152–170
Roverud RC, Grinnell AD (1985) Frequency tracking and Doppler shift compensation in response to an artificial CF/FM sound in the CF/FM bat, Noctilio albiventris. J Comp Physiol A 156:471–475
Rübsamen R, Neuweiler G, Sripathi K (1988) Comparative collicular tonotopy in two bat species adapted to movement detection, Hipposideros speoris and Megaderma lyra. J Comp Physiol A 163:271–285
Schnitzler HU (1968) Die Ultraschall-Ortungslaute der Hufeisen-Fledermäuse (Chiroptera-Rhinolophidae) in verschiedenen Orientierungssituationen. Z Vergl Physiol 68:25–39
Schnitzler HU (1970) Echoortung bei der Fledermaus Chilonycteris rubiginosa. Z Vergl Physiol 68:25–39
Schnitzler HU, Flieger E (1983) Detection of oscillating target movements by echolocation in the Greater Horshoe bat. J Comp Physiol 135:385–392
Schnitzler HU, Ostwald J (1983) Adaptations for the detection of fluttering insects by echolocation in horseshoe bats. In: Ewert JP, Capranica RR, Ingle DJ (eds) Advances in vertebrate neuroethology. Plenum Press, New York, pp 801–828
Schnitzler HU, Menne D, Kober R, Heblich K (1983) The acoustical image of fluttering insects in echolocating bats. In: Huber F, Markl H (eds) Neuroethology and behavioral physiology. Roots and growing points. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 235–250
Schmidt S (1988) Evidence for a spectral basis of texture perception in bat sonar. Nature (Lond) 331:617–619
Schuller G (1980) Hearing characteristics and Doppler shift compensation in South-Indian CF-FM bats. J Comp Physiol 139:349–356
Simmons JA, Vernon JA (1971) Echolocation: Discrimination of targets by the bat Eptesicusfuscus. J Exp Zool 176:315–328
Simmons JA, Lavender WA, Lavender BA, Doroshow CA, Kiefer SW, Livingston R, Scallet AC (1974) Target structure and echo spectral discrimination by echolocating bats. Science 186:1130–1132
Simmons JA, Moss CF, Ferragamo M (1990) Convergence of temporal and spectral information into acoustic images of complex sonar targets perceived by the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus. J Comp Physiol A 166:449–470
Sum YW, Menne D (1988) Discrimination of fluttering targets by the FM-bat Pipistrellus stenopterus? J Comp Physiol A 163:349–354
Trappe M, Schnitzler HU (1982) Doppler-shift compensation in insect-catching horseshoe bats. Naturwissenschaften 69:193
Wenstrup J, Suthers R (1984) Echolocation of moving targets by the fish-catching bat, Noctilio leporinus. J Comp Physiol A 155:75–89
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Roverud, R.C., Nitsche, V. & Neuweiler, G. Discrimination of wingbeat motion by bats, correlated with echolocation sound pattern. J Comp Physiol A 168, 259–263 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218418
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218418