title: Global warming alters sound transmission: differential impact on the prey detection ability of echolocating bats.
abstract: Climate change impacts the biogeography and phenology of plants and animals, yet the underlying mechanisms are little known. Here, we present a functional link between rising temperature and the prey detection ability of echolocating bats. The maximum distance for echo-based prey detection is physically determined by sound attenuation. Attenuation is more pronounced for high-frequency sound, such as echolocation, and is a nonlinear function of both call frequency and ambient temperature. Hence, the prey detection ability, and thus possibly the foraging efficiency, of echolocating bats and susceptible to rising temperatures through climate change. Using present-day climate data and projected temperature rises, we modelled this effect for the entire range of bat call frequencies and climate zones around the globe. We show that depending on call frequency, the prey detection volume of bats will either decrease or increase: species calling above a crossover frequency will lose and species emitting lower frequencies will gain prey detection volume, with crossover frequency and magnitude depending on the local climatic conditions. Within local species assemblages, this may cause a change in community composition. Global warming can thus directly affect the prey detection ability of individual bats and indirectly their interspecific interactions with competitors and prey.
authors: Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Sensory Ecology Group, , Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany.
authors: Jinhong
authors: J
authors: Luo
authors: Klemen
authors: K
authors: Koselj
authors: Sándor
authors: S
authors: Zsebok
authors: Björn M
authors: BM
authors: Siemers
authors: Holger R
authors: HR
authors: Goerlitz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000502:physiology*; D002980:Climate; D004455:Echolocation / Q000502:physiology*; D004463:Ecology; D005426:Flight, Animal; D005858:Germany; D057232:Global Warming; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: echolocation; foraging; global warming; sensory ecology; species interactions