title: Echolocating bats use future-target information for optimal foraging.
abstract: When seeing or listening to an object, we aim our attention toward it. While capturing prey, many animal species focus their visual or acoustic attention toward the prey. However, for multiple prey items, the direction and timing of attention for effective foraging remain unknown. In this study, we adopted both experimental and mathematical methodology with microphone-array measurements and mathematical modeling analysis to quantify the attention of echolocating bats that were repeatedly capturing airborne insects in the field. Here we show that bats select rational flight paths to consecutively capture multiple prey items. Microphone-array measurements showed that bats direct their sonar attention not only to the immediate prey but also to the next prey. In addition, we found that a bat's attention in terms of its flight also aims toward the next prey even when approaching the immediate prey. Numerical simulations revealed a possibility that bats shift their flight attention to control suitable flight paths for consecutive capture. When a bat only aims its flight attention toward its immediate prey, it rarely succeeds in capturing the next prey. These findings indicate that bats gain increased benefit by distributing their attention among multiple targets and planning the future flight path based on additional information of the next prey. These experimental and mathematical studies allowed us to observe the process of decision making by bats during their natural flight dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Organization for Research Initiatives and Development, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan; Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan; emyo.fujioka@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emyo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fujioka
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan; Research Fellowship for Young Scientists, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan;
authors.forename: Ikkyu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aihara
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan;
authors.forename: Miwa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sumiya
authors.affiliation: Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan;
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aihara
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto 610-0394, Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency, Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
authors.forename: Shizuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hiryu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological; D001288:Attention; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004455:Echolocation; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: aerial capture; bat sonar; flight dynamics; mathematical modeling; microphone array