TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kiai, Ava
A1  - Clemens, Jan
A1  - Kössl, Manfred
A1  - Poeppel, David
A1  - Hechavarría, Julio
T1  - Flexible control of vocal timing in Carollia perspicillata bats enables escape from acoustic interference
T2  - Communications viology
N2  - In natural environments, background noise can degrade the integrity of acoustic signals, posing a problem for animals that rely on their vocalizations for communication and navigation. A simple behavioral strategy to combat acoustic interference would be to restrict call emissions to periods of low-amplitude or no noise. Using audio playback and computational tools for the automated detection of over 2.5 million vocalizations from groups of freely vocalizing bats, we show that bats (Carollia perspicillata) can dynamically adapt the timing of their calls to avoid acoustic jamming in both predictably and unpredictably patterned noise. This study demonstrates that bats spontaneously seek out temporal windows of opportunity for vocalizing in acoustically crowded environments, providing a mechanism for efficient echolocation and communication in cluttered acoustic landscapes.
Y1  - 2023
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/85743
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-857431
SN  - 2399-3642
VL  - 6.2023
IS  - Article number 1153
PB  - Springer Nature
CY  - London
ER  -