Habitat Variation and Jamming Avoidance in Echolocation Calls of the Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx plicata)

We have studied the effect of habitat and presence of conspecifics on echolocation characteristics of the emballonurid bat Balantiopteryx plicata. Calls during the search phase only showed differences between habitats in bandwidth, as has been found for other open-space bats. Characteristics of call...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of mammalogy 2004-02, Vol.85 (1), p.38-42
Main Authors: Ibáñez, Carlos, Juste, Javier, López-Wilchis, Ricardo, Núñez-Garduño, Arturo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic echoes
Animal and plant ecology
Animal behavior
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Balantiopteryx plicata
Bats
Biological and medical sciences
Conspecifics
echolocation
FEATURE ARTICLES
Foraging
Forest habitats
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
habitat
Habitats
jamming avoidance
Mammalia
Pastures
Prairies
Pulse duration
Signal bandwidth
variation
Vertebrata
Wildlife habitats
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Summary:We have studied the effect of habitat and presence of conspecifics on echolocation characteristics of the emballonurid bat Balantiopteryx plicata. Calls during the search phase only showed differences between habitats in bandwidth, as has been found for other open-space bats. Characteristics of calls during the approach phase did change when bats entered open areas. Calls in the terminal phase showed no differences in the characters examined between habitats. Bats flying in groups shifted their peak frequency significantly, which maximized differences between individuals. These results are interpreted as an active mechanism of jamming avoidance. Bats flying in groups also tended to increase the mean of peak frequencies.
ISSN:0022-2372
1545-1542
DOI:10.1644/1545-1542%282004%29085%3C0038%3AHVAJAI%3E2.0.CO%3B2