Recent research reveals that bats who engage in frequent vocalizations tend to be bolder and more exploratory in their behavior, with chatty individuals producing more sounds overall.
Bats are known to be vocal creatures, but some species are more chatty than others.
A recent study has found that bats who engage in frequent vocalizations tend to be bolder and more exploratory in their behavior.
The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, involved observing 60 wild male Pallas’s long-tongued bats in Costa Rica.
The scientists recorded the bats’ behavioral and vocal responses to new environments, including a rubber ball and an offer of food from a feeder lit by a torch.
Pallas's long-tongued bats (Glossophaga soricina) are found in Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina.
These bats have a distinctive feature - their extremely long tongues, which can extend up to 3 inches (7.6 cm).
This adaptation allows them to feed on nectar deep within 'flowers'.
Their diet consists mainly of 'pollen and nectar'.
Pallas's long-tongued bats are also known for their unique vocalizations, using high-frequency sounds to communicate with each other.
The study revealed that bats who were more likely to sound alert calls were also more bold and curious.
In fact, the researchers found that bolder bats produced more sounds overall.
However, it’s unclear why intrepid bats are more vocal in the first place.
One theory is that the behavior could reflect a proactive style of confronting challenges.
The scientists suggest that this could be beneficial for social dynamics within bat colonies.
For example, if bolder individuals are better at finding insect patches, they may be followed by other bats who can benefit from their expertise.
Bats’ Social Calls Reveal Personality Traits
The study’s lead author, Theresa Schabacker, notes that the research is a major step forward in understanding behavioral types in bats and how they relate to social vocalization.
‘This study shows that social calls can reflect an individual’s personality traits,’ she says.
Bats are nocturnal mammals that exhibit unique behaviors to navigate and hunt in the dark.
They use echolocation, emitting high-frequency sounds, which bounce off objects and return to the bat as echoes, allowing them to build a mental map of their surroundings.
Bats also display social behavior, with some species forming colonies and engaging in complex communication.
On average, bats live for 10-20 years, although some species can live up to 40 years.
There are over 1,300 species of bats, ranging from the tiny Kitti's hog-nosed bat to the large flying fox.
Bats are known to exhibit unique and fascinating personality traits.
Research has shown that they can be territorial, with some species fiercely defending their roosting sites against intruders.
Others have been observed displaying social behavior, forming close bonds with each other and even cooperating during foraging activities.
Some bat species have also demonstrated innovative problem-solving skills, using tools to obtain food or navigate through obstacles.
Implications for Social Hierarchies
The study’s results have implications for our understanding of social hierarchies in bat colonies.
While the researchers don’t know exactly how various behavioral types play into social hierarchies, they suggest that bolder individuals may be followed by other bats who can benefit from their expertise.
‘This could be a way for bats to gather information about their environment and make decisions about where to forage,’ says Erin Gillam, a behavioral ecologist at North Dakota State University.
‘It’s an interesting area of research that could have implications for our understanding of social behavior in animals more broadly.
- sciencenews.org | Chatty bats are more likely to take risks
