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Bats 'recognise other’s voices'
bbc ^
| 5 June 2009
| Victoria Gill
Posted on 06/06/2009 9:11:16 PM PDT by JoeProBono
As if flying around in the dark swooping and diving to catch insects was not tricky enough, bats also listen for their fellow hunters. A study has revealed how these winged mammals recognise other bats' voices. They are able to differentiate the ultrasonic "echolocation" calls that other bats make as they navigate. In the journal PLoS Computational Biology, the scientists report that the bats have an internal "reference" call to which they compare others. Yossi Yovel from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and his colleagues in Germany recorded the echolocation calls of five greater mouse-eared bats The bats use these brief bursts of sound in sonar navigation - bouncing sound waves off their surroundings to find their way and locate prey. Dr Yovel's team tested the bats' ability to identify the others by playing the recorded sounds to them. "Each bat was assigned two others it had to distinguish between," Dr Yovel explained. "So we trained bat A on a platform, playing a sound from bat B on one side and from bat C on the other. He had crawl to where the 'correct' sound was coming from." Each of the subjects was taught that a call from just one of the other bats was correct.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: bats; science
To: JoeProBono
2
posted on
06/06/2009 9:13:14 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: All
3
posted on
06/06/2009 9:14:46 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: All
4
posted on
06/06/2009 9:17:40 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: All
5
posted on
06/06/2009 9:23:16 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: JoeProBono
This could explain how bats remain in a group when flying at high speeds in darkness, and how they avoid interference between each others' echolocation calls. That's what's known in the field biology biz as a "DUH."
But I really do like western pipistrelles. They're sorta cute.
6
posted on
06/06/2009 9:27:07 PM PDT
by
Flycatcher
(God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
To: JoeProBono
'HELLOOOOOO!'
To: Flycatcher
8
posted on
06/06/2009 9:29:05 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: JoeProBono
If they heard all signals the same the system wouldn’t work at all. It’s not surprising that they recognize individuals.
9
posted on
06/06/2009 9:30:40 PM PDT
by
SWAMPSNIPER
(THE SECOND AMENDMENT, A MATTER OF FACT, NOT A MATTER OF OPINION)
To: Charles Henrickson
10
posted on
06/06/2009 9:30:58 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: JoeProBono
See? I told ya. Western pipistrelles are CUTE!
Thanks for the pic!
11
posted on
06/06/2009 9:36:58 PM PDT
by
Flycatcher
(God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
To: Flycatcher
Nancy P talking to Barbra Boxer again?
12
posted on
06/06/2009 10:05:23 PM PDT
by
jedi150
To: jedi150
13
posted on
06/06/2009 10:06:39 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: JoeProBono
14
posted on
06/06/2009 10:18:05 PM PDT
by
GOP Poet
To: SWAMPSNIPER
15
posted on
06/06/2009 10:19:24 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: GOP Poet
16
posted on
06/06/2009 10:23:21 PM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: JoeProBono
[ Bats 'recognise other’s voices' ]
Democrats are like that.. DingBats?...
17
posted on
06/06/2009 10:49:41 PM PDT
by
hosepipe
(This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole....)
To: JoeProBono
To: snarks_when_bored
19
posted on
06/07/2009 3:53:59 AM PDT
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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