Body lift, drag and power are relatively higher in large-eared than in small-eared bat species.

ABSTRACT: Bats navigate the dark using echolocation. Echolocation is enhanced by external ears, but external ears increase the projected frontal area and reduce the streamlining of the animal. External ears are thus expected to compromise flight efficiency, but research suggests that very large ears may mitigate the cost by producing aerodynamic lift. Here we compare quantitative aerodynamic measures of flight efficiency of two bat species, one large-eared (Plecotus auritus) and one small-eared (Glossophaga soricina), flying freely in a wind tunnel. We find that the body drag of both species is higher than previously assumed and that the large-eared species has a higher body drag coefficient, but also produces relatively more ear/body lift than the small-eared species, in line with pri

SUBMITTER: Hakansson J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5665827 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature