02317nas a2200217 4500008004100000022001300041245011300054210006900167260001600236300001400252490000800266520167100274100001401945700001601959700001701975700001701992700001902009700001402028700001602042856004102058 2019 eng d a0003347200aPerformance of Doppler shift compensation in bats varies with species rather than with environmental clutter0 aPerformance of Doppler shift compensation in bats varies with sp cJan-12-2019 a109 - 1200 v1583 a

The performance of vocal motor control is crucial for vocal communication; however, its evolution and ecological drivers are largely unknown. Doppler shift compensation (DSC), which has been found only in bats, represents an excellent model for studying the mechanisms and evolution of vocal control. We tested whether species that are more dependent on DSC for pulse–echo separation have a more precise DSC and whether changes in environmental clutter would result in adjustments in DSC performance. We recorded the echolocation and flight behaviour of the greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, and the great leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros armiger, flying through a corridor and a window in turn. The DSC precision in H. armiger was significantly lower than that of R. ferrumequinum; the offset between the reference frequency and resting frequency, however, was not significantly different between the two species. We also studied the DSC of H. armiger flying through windows of different sizes. Their flight speed decreased significantly with reduced window size. However, DSC precision and the offset did not vary significantly with window size. Our results suggest that DSC is more precise in rhinolophids, which have a higher demand for pulse–echo separation by DSC, than in hipposiderids. Changes in environmental clutter do not necessarily result in adjustments of DSC performance. Functional importance associated with high-performance vocal control may be critical in shaping the precision of vocal control in the course of evolution. Instead, habitat clutter encountered by vocalizing animals may not play an important role.

1 aZhang, Yu1 aLin, Aiqing1 aDing, Jianan1 aYang, Xinyao1 aJiang, Tinglei1 aLiu, Ying1 aFeng, Jiang uhttps://bio.acousti.ca/fr/node/5788402100nas a2200241 4500008004100000022001300041245010800054210006900162260001600231300001200247490000800259520136000267653002201627653002901649653002101678100001401699700001901713700001401732700001501746700001401761700001601775856006701791 2019 eng d a0003347200aAcoustic signalling of aggressive intent in the agonistic encounters of female Asian particoloured bats0 aAcoustic signalling of aggressive intent in the agonistic encoun cJan-03-2019 a65 - 750 v1493 a

The signals of animal aggressive intent can communicate aggression levels to competitors, thereby settling conflicts at an early stage and thus reducing energy costs. We tested whether aggressive vocalizations of female Asian particoloured bats, Vespertilio sinensis, encode aggressive intent during agonistic encounters that occur whenever an intruder pushes a resident to obtain a more central roosting spot. Our results showed that the number of noisy/tonal syllables of the disturbed bats met the three criteria used to define aggressive intent. First, the number and ratio of tonal syllables were significantly greater when intruders continued to push, and the number and ratio of noisy syllables were significantly greater when they stopped pushing (context criterion). Second, skin temperature related to emotional arousal during aggressive interaction generally increased when intruders stopped pushing but was unchanged or decreased when they continued pushing (predictive criterion). Finally, bats preferentially selected stimuli with more tonal syllables, and they spent more time approaching more noisy syllables in a two-choice playback experiment (response criterion). Thus, we propose that the number of noisy/tonal syllables within aggressive vocalizations of female Asian particoloured bats functions to signal aggressive intent.

10aaggressive intent10aaggressive vocalizations10askin temperature1 aZhao, Xin1 aJiang, Tinglei1 aLiu, Heng1 aWang, Yuze1 aLiu, Ying1 aFeng, Jiang uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S000334721930013202261nas a2200229 4500008004100000245009200041210006900133260001600202520158200218653000901800653001301809653001701822653003001839100001601869700001201885700002001897700001501917700002001932700001401952700001601966856004901982 2018 eng d00aSocial vocalizations of big-footed myotis (Myotis macrodactylus) during foraging0 aSocial vocalizations of bigfooted myotis iMyotis macrodactylusi  cFeb-12-20203 a

Acoustic signals play a crucial role in transmitting information and maintaining social stability in gregarious animals, especially in echolocating bats which rely primarily on biological sonar for navigating in the dark. In the context of foraging without relying on tactile, visual, or olfactory cues, acoustic signals convey information not only on food, but also on ownership and defense of resources. However, studies on such information remain fragmentary. In the present study, we aim to document the social vocal repertoire of Myotis macrodactylus at natural foraging sites. Multiple acoustic analyses and spectrographic classification revealed a rich foraging vocal repertoire comprising 6 simple syllables and 2 composites. Discriminant function analyses associated with a subset‐validation procedure provided an optimal method to spectrographically classify all recorded sounds into different syllable types. Multidimensional scaling of median values of multiple parameters further confirmed notable differences among these syllables in a three‐dimensional space. In addition, Euclidean distance analysis showed that there were some spectral similarities between specific social vocal syllables and feeding buzzes, which implied a potential jamming role. Altogether, the data indicate that bats at foraging sites under natural conditions used variant social vocalizations with different functions in addition to echolocation calls, providing supporting evidence for further work on the function and vocal mechanisms of acoustic communication in mammals.

10abats10aforaging10aSocial calls10aSpectro-temporal features1 aGuo, Dongge1 aLuo, Bo1 aZhang, Kangkang1 aLIU, Muxun1 aMetzner, Walter1 aLiu, Ying1 aFeng, Jiang uhttp://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/1749-4877.1236702313nas a2200277 4500008004100000022001300041245008800054210006900142260001600211300001400227490000800241520150900249653002701758653000901785653003701794653001301831653001601844100001201860700001601872700001601888700001601904700001901920700001401939700001601953856006601969 2017 eng d a0003347200aSocial calls honestly signal female competitive ability in Asian particoloured bats0 aSocial calls honestly signal female competitive ability in Asian cJan-05-2017 a101 - 1080 v1273 a

Why a variety of social animals vocalize during agonistic foraging interactions remains obscure. One possibility is that these signals advertise the signaller's competitive ability, playing a role in the defence of food resources, yet there is limited evidence in support of this idea. Here, we used adult female Asian particoloured bats, Vespertilio sinensis, to test whether individual variation in competitive ability when foraging can be explained by social calls. Using synchronized infrared video and audio recording, we monitored bat social vocalizations, dominance rank and weight gain in triads under controlled food conditions. Additionally, subsequent playbacks, consisting of experimental stimuli, echolocation pulses and silence, were presented to feeding bats in a laboratory. Analyses showed that females uttered low-frequency social calls composed of one to five syllable types during feeding competition. The rates of social vocalizations increased with reduced food availability. Interestingly, dominance score and weight gain correlated weakly with body size, but positively with call rate and associated parameters. Playback of social calls inhibited the visits of bats to the focal food dish compared to playback of silence and echolocation pulses. The amount of food consumed was greatly reduced in the presence of experimental stimuli versus controls. Collectively, these results highlight that acoustic signals serve as an honest indicator of bat competitive ability.

10aaggressive interaction10abats10acompetitive ability echolocation10aforaging10asocial call1 aLuo, Bo1 aLu, Guanjun1 aChen, Kelly1 aGuo, Dongge1 aHuang, Xiaobin1 aLiu, Ying1 aFeng, Jiang uhttp://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347217300842