Abstract
Previousstudies of sexual dimorphism in the echolocation pulses of the constant frequency-frequency modulating (CF-FM) bat have been mainly concentrated on the difference in the frequency of the CF component of the predominant second harmonic while neglected other pulse parameters. However, recent studies have shown that other pulse parameters of the predominant second harmonic are also biologically significant to the bat hunting. To complement and advance these studies, we have examined sexual dimorphism of multiple parameters (e.g., duration, frequency, bandwidth of the FM component, and repetition rate of emitted pulses) of the echolocation pulses of the CF-FM bat, Hipposideros pratti. Our studies of the predominant second harmonic show that on average the male bat has higher frequency of the CF component, wider FM bandwidth, and higher pulse repetition rate while the female bat has longer duration of the CF and FM components. Theseobservations suggest that bats may potentially use this sexual dimorphism in echolocation pulse parameters for social communication and species and sex identification.
Highlights
Previous studies of sexual dimorphism in the echolocation pulses of the constant frequency-frequency modulating (CF-FM) bat have been mainly concentrated on the difference in the frequency of the CF component of the predominant second harmonic while neglected other pulse parameters
We studied the sexual dimorphism of the echolocation pulses by analyzing multiple pulse parameters of the predominant H2 which has been shown to be essential for successful echolocation in behavioral and neurophysiological studies (Neuweiler et al 1987; O’Neill and Suga 1982; Schnitzler and Henson 1980; Schnitzler and Denzinger 2011; Suga et al 1987; Suga 1990)
The forearm length, body weight, and echolocation pulses of Hipposideros pratti The forearm length, body weight, and the predominant CF of H. pratti measured in the present study (Fig. 1, Tables 1 and 2, bats caught in Hubei province) were similar to the measurements of the same bat species reported in a previous study but different from that reported in another study
Summary
Previous studies of sexual dimorphism in the echolocation pulses of the constant frequency-frequency modulating (CF-FM) bat have been mainly concentrated on the difference in the frequency of the CF component of the predominant second harmonic while neglected other pulse parameters. Other studies showed that the echolocation pulses could be used for identification of species (Russo et al 2007; Schuchmann and Siemers 2010), age (Jones and Ransome 1993; Masters et al 1995), and group affiliation (Jameson and Hare 2009; Masters et al 1995). These social interactions are based on the fact that
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