Weather conditions determine attenuation and speed of sound: Environmental limitations for monitoring and analyzing bat echolocation.

ABSTRACT: Echolocating bats are regularly studied to investigate auditory-guided behaviors and as important bioindicators. Bioacoustic monitoring methods based on echolocation calls are increasingly used for risk assessment and to ultimately inform conservation strategies for bats. As echolocation calls transmit through the air at the speed of sound, they undergo changes due to atmospheric and geometric attenuation. Both the speed of sound and atmospheric attenuation, however, are variable and determined by weather conditions, particularly temperature and relative humidity. Changing weather conditions thus cause variation in analyzed call parameters, limiting our ability to detect, and correctly analyze bat calls. Here, I use real-world weather data to exemplify the effect of varying weather conditi

SUBMITTER: Goerlitz HR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5980448 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature