Bats can jam the signals of their competitors – BBC Russian

• November 7, 2014

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Brazilian tailed emit special echoes that jammed signals competitor

Discovered species of bats that live in Mexico, which are able to turn off the ultrasonic signals of their competitors when chasing prey.

This “jamming” comes at a time when the mouse is ready to grab a flying insect. After that, another mouse that uses such tactics, intercepts prey.

As described in the journal Science, scientists for the first time managed to fix this behavior of bats on the example of the form “Brazilian tailed”.

Already long known that when hunting insects all bats use echolocation – they emit ultrasonic vibrations that help them accurately determine the location of the victim in the dark. The speed and frequency of these signals increase as we approach the mouse to its goal.

Corcoran Aaaron entomologist at the University of North Carolina studied the behavior of various types of moths when accidentally recorded the strange signals of bats.

” One of the two mice trying to catch a butterfly, using the usual tactics of echolocation. The second mouse, which followed the first emitted completely different sounds, which looked like an attempt to stifle or distort signals given first, “- says the scientist.

Bats gather in huge congestion during the night Ohta

“In most cases, when submitting such signals mouse, to which they were sent, lost production,” – he said.

Scientists were able to record using special microphones these sounds in the ultrasonic range . When their record losing in actual hunting mice, they invariably lost production as a result of disorientation.

“No nothing like that observed in other animals that use echolocation. Surprisingly not that mouse vying for hunting, but the fact that they have developed the ability to generate a signal for jamming, “- says Dr. Corcoran.

The researchers are now going to find out whether this behavior is characteristic of other species of bats.

Professor Keith Jones University College London, who was not involved in the study, notes that the new hardware, which appeared recently, allow to penetrate into the strange world inhabited by bats.

Dr. Corcoran studied bats in the field

It also examines the phenomenon of echolocation in bats and believes that scientists have yet to learn a lot about the social structure of the life of bats, and that the new study is important in this sense.

According to Dr. Keith Barlow, who works in the fund conservation of bats, social relations in communities of these winged mammals are very difficult to study because of the small size of the animals and their nocturnal life.

“This study throws new light on the complex behavior of these creatures who learned how to use echolocation to deceive competitors. This is a very intricate and unusual behavior strategy! “- she said.