Bats recognize the distinct voices of others

Bats can use the distinctive voice of other bats to recognize each other, according to a study by researchers at the University of Tuebingen, Germany and the University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz, Germany. The study explains how bats use echolocation not only to get information about distance.

The researchers first tested the ability of the four mouse-eared bats to distinguish the calls used to locate the space of other bats. After observing that the bats learned to distinguish the voices of the same species, the scientists then programmed a computer model to replicate this bat's behavioral identity. Analysis from the model shows that the spectral energy distribution in the signals contains individual-specific information that allows the bat to recognize other animals.

Big mouse ear bat.The researchers found that bats can apply the characteristic voices of other bats to recognize each other.(Photo: Wikimedia)

Animals must recognize each other to participate in some social behavior.Audio communication signals are very useful in recognizing other individuals, especially in species that are active at night like bats. We also know very little about how bats perform difficult social activities, such as maintaining the herd while flying at great speed in the dark, or avoiding interference between locating calls. time. It has been discovered that bats can recognize other species of the same species based on the call of spatial positioning, which may have some important implications.

The research was funded by SFB 550, and the Graduiertenkolleg Neurobiologie. The study also received some support from the IST Program implemented by the European Community, run by the network PASCAL, IST-2002-506778. The study is also supported by the human resources and mobile activities of the association Marie Curie in the first phase of research training under contract MEST-CT-2004-504321 PERACT by the Association of European States. Donors are not involved in building research, collecting data, analyzing data, or deciding to publish and prepare manuscripts.

References:
Yovel et al.The Voice of Bats: How Greater than the Earned Bats Recognize Individuals Based on Their Echolocation Calls.PLoS Computational Biology, 2009;5 (6): e1000400 DOI: 10.1371 / journal.pcbi.1000400