biostudies-literatureRoeleke MHUJI | Minerva Center for Movement Ecology, Hebrew University of JerusalemAdelina and Massimo Della Pergola Chair of Life SciencesDeutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftIsrael Science FoundationMinerva Foundatione2203663119https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9388074biostudies-literatureUnknown119(33)Animals that depend on ephemeral, patchily distributed prey often use public information to locate resource patches. The use of public information can lead to the aggregation of foragers at prey patches, a mechanism known as local enhancement. However, when ephemeral resources are distributed over large areas, foragers may also need to increase search efficiency, and thus apply social strategies when sampling the landscape. While sensory networks of visually oriented animals have already been confirmed, we lack an understanding of how acoustic eavesdropping adds to the formation of sensory networks. Here we radio-tracked a total of 81 aerial-hawking bats at very high spatiotemporal resolution during five sessions over 3 y, recording up to 19 individuals simultaneously. Analyses of interactProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaInsectivorous bats form mobile sensory networks to optimize prey localization: The case of the common noctule bat.PMC9388074NA1919/19GRK 2118 BioMove965/15Toledo SVoigt CCSchlagel UENathan RRoeleke MPufelski JBlohm TJeltsch FGallagher CfalseInsectivorous bats form mobile sensory networks to optimize prey localization: The case of the common noctule bat.Animals that depend on ephemeral, patchily distributed prey often use public information to locate resource patches. The use of public information can lead to the aggregation of foragers at prey patches, a mechanism known as local enhancement. However, when ephemeral resources are distributed over large areas, foragers may also need to increase search efficiency, and thus apply social strategies when sampling the landscape. While sensory networks of visually oriented animals have already been confirmed, we lack an understanding of how acoustic eavesdropping adds to the formation of sensory networks. Here we radio-tracked a total of 81 aerial-hawking bats at very high spatiotemporal resolution during five sessions over 3 y, recording up to 19 individuals simultaneously. Analyses of interact2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Aug2025-04-04T08:31:24.864Z2025-04-04T08:31:24.864ZS-EPMC93880743593967710.1073/pnas.2203663119