Body Size Predicts Echolocation Call Peak Frequency Better than Gape Height in Vespertilionid Bats.

ABSTRACT: In most vocalizing vertebrates, lighter animals tend to produce acoustic signals of higher frequency than heavier animals. Two hypotheses propose to explain this negative relationship in vespertilionid bats: (i) mass-signal frequency allometry and (ii) emitter-limited (maximum gape) signal directionality. The first hypothesis, that lighter bats with smaller larynges are constrained to calls with higher frequencies, is supported at the species level. The second hypothesis proposes that in open space, small bats use higher frequencies to achieve narrow sonar beams, as beam directionality increases with both emitter size (maximum gape) and signal frequency. This hypothesis is supported within a comparative context but remains untested beyond a few species. We analyzed gape, body mass, and ech

SUBMITTER: Thiagavel J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5429766 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature