Divergent echolocation call frequencies in insular rhinolophids (Chiroptera): a case of character displacement?

Russo, Danilo; Mucedda, Mauro; Bello, Monica; Biscardi, Stefania; Pidinchedda, Ermanno; Jones, Gareth

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01762.x

Cited by 89 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Geographic variation in social call structure has been observed in a number of species (e.g., Russo and Jones, 1999;Pfalzer and Kusch, 2003;Russo et al 2007Russo et al , 2009. Differences in call structure may be due to genetic factors (Russo et al, 2009), social learning (Esser and Schmidt, 1989;Boughman, 1998), or environmental conditions such as temperature (Jones and Ransome, 1993) or habitat structure (Russo and Jones, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intra- and Interspecific Responses to Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) Social Calls

Loeb

Britzke

2010

Acta Chiropterologica

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Bats respond to the calls of conspecifics as well as to calls of other species; however, few studies have attempted to quantify these responses or understand the functions of these calls. We tested the response of Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) to social calls as a possible method to increase capture success and to understand the function of social calls. We also tested if calls of bats within the range of the previously designated subspecies differed, if the responses of Rafinesque's big-eared bats varied with geographic origin of the calls, and if other species responded to the calls of C. rafinesquii. We recorded calls of Rafinesque's big-eared bats at two colony roost sites in South Carolina, USA. Calls were recorded while bats were in the roosts and as they exited. Playback sequences for each site were created by copying typical pulses into the playback file. Two mist nets were placed approximately 50-500 m from known roost sites; the net with the playback equipment served as the Experimental net and the one without the equipment served as the Control net. Call structures differed significantly between the Mountain and Coastal Plains populations with calls from the Mountains being of higher frequency and longer duration. Ten of 11 Rafinesque's big-eared bats were caught in the Control nets and, 13 of 19 bats of other species were captured at Experimental nets even though overall bat activity did not differ significantly between Control and Experimental nets. Our results suggest that Rafinesque's big-eared bats are not attracted to conspecifics' calls and that these calls may act as an intraspecific spacing mechanism during foraging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because echo location calls can be intercepted by other bats, they also can serve a communication function, as in the case of eavesdropping (e.g., Barclay, 1982;Balcombe and Fenton, 1988;Gillam, 2007). Further, differences in echolocation call structure may play an important role in species recognition (Russo et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra- and Interspecific Responses to Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) Social Calls

Loeb

Britzke

2010

Acta Chiropterologica

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“…The results suggested that greater horseshoe bats may use individually distinct, "private" call frequencies for intra-individual communication and recognition. Studies have documented that a "private bandwidth of frequency" may have crucial functions in social communication and sexual behavior, for example, allowing bats to recognize relative individuals or attract copulation partners of right species [34]. In mating season, the male greater horseshoe bats have a polygynous mating system and male territoriality [35].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocalization during copulation behavior in greater horseshoe bats, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

2013

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Vocal communication plays an important role for individual recognition and male-female interaction during mating in greater horseshoe bats, especially in respect to mate fidelity, which ensures that the bats can maintain a stable social organization. Few studies, however, have addressed the calling behavior during copulating in bats. Here, we initially report the copulation vocalizations and behaviors of both male and female greater horseshoe bats. During copulation, the male assumed a dorsal position and arched his back, arming around the female using his feet and thumbs. The male repeatedly produced very short constant frequency (SCF) syllables with high intensity and repetition rate (male 1: 16.48±4.8 ms, male 2: 17.79±4.03 ms) when he tried to insert the penis into the female, and then long syllables (male 1: 42.08±12.67 ms, male 2: 43.02±11.44 ms) after penile insertion. The female bats sometime refused the male bats in the early phase of copulations as emitting noise bursts and broad-band vocalizations, but kept silence during actual copulation. We also found that the SCF copulation calls of one male remained stable peak frequencies on different copulation days although its echolocation call frequency varied each day. Moreover, different male individuals maintained their own "private frequency" in the SCF copulation calls. Therefore, we predicted that the SCF copulation calls may serve as an indicator for female greater horseshoe bats to recognize the mating males in order to maintain mate fidelity because horseshoe bats exhibit sexual segregation before mating. Our results stipulate further studies on mating system and copulation strategies in polygynous bats. Such work may also aid in promoting the preservation of greater horseshoe bats.greater horseshoe bat, copulation, communication calls, mate fidelity Citation:Liu Y, Metzner W, Feng J. Vocalization during copulation behavior in greater horseshoe bats, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum.

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“…hunting and roosting) and refer to the former as 'social information'. Vocal signatures in bat echolocation calls can encode information ranging from species identity [18,19], age [20,21] and sex [22,23] to group affiliation [21,24] and individual identity [25][26][27] of the calling bat. However, it is still controversial as to what extent this social information is actually exploited by eavesdropping conspecifics [11,17,28,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bat echolocation calls facilitate social communication

et al. 2012

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Bat echolocation is primarily used for orientation and foraging but also holds great potential for social communication. The communicative function of echolocation calls is still largely unstudied, especially in the wild. Eavesdropping on vocal signatures encoding social information in echolocation calls has not, to our knowledge, been studied in free-living bats so far. We analysed echolocation calls of the polygynous bat Saccopteryx bilineata and found pronounced vocal signatures encoding sex and individual identity. We showed experimentally that free-living males discriminate approaching male and female conspecifics solely based on their echolocation calls. Males always produced aggressive vocalizations when hearing male echolocation calls and courtship vocalizations when hearing female echolocation calls; hence, they responded with complex social vocalizations in the appropriate social context. Our study demonstrates that social information encoded in bat echolocation calls plays a crucial and hitherto underestimated role for eavesdropping conspecifics and thus facilitates social communication in a highly mobile nocturnal mammal.

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Divergent echolocation call frequencies in insular rhinolophids (Chiroptera): a case of character displacement?

Abstract: Lo studio dimostra l'esistenza di fenomeni di divergenza bioacustica in popolazioni simpatriche insulari di chirotteri rinolofidi collegandoli a un possibile processo di character displacement generato dalla necessità di mantenere bande separate di comunicazione tra specie divers

Cited by 89 publications

References 49 publications

Intra- and Interspecific Responses to Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) Social Calls

Intra- and Interspecific Responses to Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) Social Calls

Vocalization during copulation behavior in greater horseshoe bats, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

Bat echolocation calls facilitate social communication

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