Geographical and individual variation in echolocation calls of the intermediate leaf‐nosed bat,Hipposideros larvatus |
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| Authors: | Tinglei Jiang Rong Liu Walter Metzner Yuyan You Shi Li Sen Liu Jiang Feng |
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| Institution: | 1. Key Laboratory for Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration of National Environmental Protection, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China;2. Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA;3. Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA;4. Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA;5. Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China |
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| Abstract: | The cause and significance of variation in echolocation call frequency within hipposiderid bats is not well understood despite an increasing number of allopatric and sympatric examples being documented. We examined variation patterns in the resting frequency (RF) of echolocation calls emitted by the intermediate leaf‐nosed bat, Hipposideros larvatus, on a broad geographical scale. Data mining technology and Kruskal–Wallis test both showed substantial variation with a longitudinal pattern in RF in H. larvatus among colonies, and this variation was associated with geographical distance and not body size. In addition, we found that a high degree of variability between individuals was hidden under the geographical variation. The results support an effect of random cultural drift, and challenge the prey detection hypothesis. Moreover, an acoustic difference among local island colonies may be indicative of a vocal dialect. We found that each colony of H. larvatus seems to maintain a ‘private bandwidth’, which could be used for colony identity and individual communication thus helping individuals and colonies to get a number of fitness benefits. |
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