Active Control of Acoustic Field-of-View in a Biosonar System
2011
Bats Use Sophisticated Echolocation to Navigate
Sample size: 5
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Yovel Y, Falk B, Moss CF, Ulanovsky N
Hypothesis
How do Egyptian fruit bats adapt their echolocation to navigate complex environments?
Conclusion
Egyptian fruit bats can adjust the width of their sonar beam and the intensity of their vocalizations to better navigate obstacles.
Supporting Evidence
- The bats can broaden their sonar beam to track multiple objects.
- The area covered by each click pair is larger in complex environments.
- Bats increase the loudness of their vocalizations in the presence of obstacles.
Takeaway
Bats can change how they use their sound to see better in tricky places, just like we look around to find our friends in a busy room.
Methodology
The researchers trained bats to locate a plastic sphere in a dark room with varying obstacles while recording their vocalizations.
Participant Demographics
Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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