Noise distracts foraging bats

Erratum Foraging bats avoid noise

Sensory Ecology: Noise Annoys Foraging Bats

Traffic noise reduces foraging time and effort in greater mouse-eared bats, presumably by masking rustling sounds made by moving arthropods. Anthropogenic noise is becoming a major concern in conservation biology.

Social Calls Predict Foraging Success in Big Brown Bats

Animals foraging in the dark are engaged simultaneously in prey pursuit, collision avoidance, and interactions with conspecifics, making efficient nonvisual communication essential. A variety of birds and mammals emit food-associated calls that inform, attract, or repel conspecifics (e.g.,). Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) are insectivorous aerial hawkers that may forage near conspecifics and...

Foraging Ecology Predicts Learning Performance in Insectivorous Bats

Bats are unusual among mammals in showing great ecological diversity even among closely related species and are thus well suited for studies of adaptation to the ecological background. Here we investigate whether behavioral flexibility and simple- and complex-rule learning performance can be predicted by foraging ecology. We predict faster learning and higher flexibility in animals hunting in m...

Social calls coordinate foraging in greater spear-nosed bats

The function of social calls emitted by foraging bats has received little study. Here we use observations of free-ranging greater spear-nosed bats, Phyllostomus hastatus, and field playbacks to determine whether audible, broad-band 'screech' calls attract mates, warn conspecifics or influence access to food. Five lines of evidence suggest that screech calls enable adult females from the same ro...