Abstract
Social animals regularly face the problem of relocating conspecifics when separated. Communication is one of the most important mechanisms facilitating group formation and cohesion. Known as contact calls, signals exchanged between conspecifics that permit group maintenance are widespread across many taxa. Foliage-roosting bats are an excellent model system for studying the evolution of contact calling, as there are opportunities to compare closely related species that exhibit major differences in ecology and behavior. Further, foliage-roosting bats rely on relatively ephemeral roosts, which leads to major challenges in maintaining group cohesion. Here, we report findings on the communication signals produced by two tent-making bats, Dermanura watsoni and Ectophylla alba. We found that both species produced calls in the early morning near the roost that were associated with roostmate recruitment. Calling often ended once other bats arrived at the tent, suggesting that calls may be involved in roostmate recruitment and group formation. The structure and function of these calls are described and future research directions are discussed.
Highlights
Whether social or solitary in nature, almost all animals associate with one or more conspecifics at some point during their lifetime
Regardless of the factors that lead to the formation of social groups, animals regularly face the problem of relocating conspecifics when separated, and communication often plays an important role in facilitating the formation and maintenance of social groups
We focus on two species that differ in aspects of their social organization and roosting ecology, in an effort to understand how such behavioural and ecological factors may shape the structure of signalling systems
Summary
Whether social or solitary in nature, almost all animals associate with one or more conspecifics at some point during their lifetime. Regardless of the factors that lead to the formation of social groups, animals regularly face the problem of relocating conspecifics when separated, and communication often plays an important role in facilitating the formation and maintenance of social groups. Such signals involved in group formation, known as ‘‘contact calls’’ [5], are common across many taxa and are often the primary mechanism by which group cohesion is maintained Given the social nature of this taxon, it is not surprising that many species produce signals that convey specialized information to receivers. Social calls have been shown to play important roles in the behavior of bats, including offspring recognition [11], mate attraction [12] and advertisement of aggression [13], or distress [14]
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