Delayed response and biosonar perception explain movement coordination in trawling bats.

ABSTRACT: Animal coordinated movement interactions are commonly explained by assuming unspecified social forces of attraction, repulsion and alignment with parameters drawn from observed movement data. Here we propose and test a biologically realistic and quantifiable biosonar movement interaction mechanism for echolocating bats based on spatial perceptual bias, i.e. actual sound field, a reaction delay, and observed motor constraints in speed and acceleration. We found that foraging pairs of bats flying over a water surface swapped leader-follower roles and performed chases or coordinated manoeuvres by copying the heading a nearby individual has had up to 500 ms earlier. Our proposed mechanism based on the interplay between sensory-motor constraints and delayed alignment was able to recreate the ob

SUBMITTER: Giuggioli L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4374978 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature