The emission pattern of vocalizations and directionality of the sonar system in the echolocating bat, Pteronotus parnelli

Abstract

The radiation patterns of the first three harmonics (approx. 30, 60, 90 kHz) of the mustached bat biosonar signal were measured from vocalizations elicited by cortical microstimulation. The primary foci of the acoustic beam patterns were in front of the mouth but somewhat below the horizontal plane. The prominent second and third harmonics showed sharp cutoffs between 20 degrees and 30 degrees lateral to the midline. Sidelobes were found, suggesting the influence of some vocal tract interference. When compared with previously measured estimates of the directionality of the auditory system, the vocal emission patterns are roughly complementary: Regions of maximum auditory sensitivity are found in areas of submaximal power for the sonar pulse beam pattern. The result is that, for the two most important harmonics, the "biosonar system" (i.e., vocal beam pattern plus receiver directionality) has a broader and more uniform directionality than either component alone. Therefore, within a limited region of space, echo amplitude will vary less as a function of angular displacement. This reduces the confounding influences of absolute sound pressure level on interaural intensity differences.