Using sounds for making decisions: greater tube-nosed bats prefer antagonistic calls over non-communicative sounds when feeding.
Bats vocalize extensively within different social contexts. The type and extent of information conveyed via their vocalizations and their perceptual significance, however, remains controversial and difficult to assess. Greater tube-nosed bats, Murina leucogaster, emit calls consisting of long rectangular broadband noise burst (rBNBl) syllables during aggression between males. To experimentally test the behavioral impact of these sounds for feeding, we deployed an approach and place-preference paradigm. Two food trays were placed on opposite sides and within different acoustic microenvironments, created by sound playback, within a specially constructed tent. Specifically, we tested whether the presence of rBNBl sounds at a food source effectively deters the approach of male bats in comparison to echolocation sounds and white noise. In each case, contrary to our expectation, males preferred to feed at a location where rBNBl sounds were present. We propose that the species-specific rBNBl provides contextual information, not present within non-communicative sounds, to facilitate approach towards a food source.
Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.|Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration of National Environmental Protection, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.
Tinglei
T
Jiang
Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.
Zhenyu
Z
Long
Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.
Xin
X
Ran
Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.
Xue
X
Zhao
Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.
Fei
F
Xu
Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.
Fuyuan
F
Qiu
Department of Neurology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
Jagmeet S
JS
Kanwal
Jilin Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China fengj@nenu.edu.cn.|Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration of National Environmental Protection, Northeast Normal University, Jingyue St 2555, Changchun 130117, People's Republic of China.
Jiang
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7503-1069
J
Feng
Acoustic communication; Bats; Decision making; Information; Social calls