Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecologic... more Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecological studies to taxonomy. Effective use of these relies on identification of species from the recordings, but comparative recordings or detailed call descriptions to support identification are often lacking for areas with high biodiversity. The ChiroVox website (www.chirovox.org) was created to facilitate the sharing of bat sound recordings together with their metadata, including biodiversity data and recording circumstances. To date, more than 30 researchers have contributed over 3,900 recordings of nearly 200 species, making ChiroVox the largest open-access bat call library currently available. Each recording has a unique identifier that can be cited in publications; hence the acoustic analyses are repeatable. Most of the recordings available through the website are from bats whose species identities are confirmed, so they can be used to determine species in recordings where the bats wer...
The East Asian Tailless Leaf-nosed Bat (Coelops frithii) is a small hipposiderid species that wid... more The East Asian Tailless Leaf-nosed Bat (Coelops frithii) is a small hipposiderid species that widely distributed in the Asian tropics and subtropics, but rarely recorded across its distribution range. Here, we present the first record of C. frithii to Penang, Malaysia. An adult female was captured in Tropical Spice Garden in March 2015 by a harp trap. The record confirms the presence of the species nearly two decades after the last report from the country. We found that the bat used two varieties of echolocation calls. It typically used short frequency-modulated calls with high pitch and low duty cycles, which is similar to the calls reported from its congeneric. The second type of echolocation contains a short but higher duty cycle quasi-frequency-modulated call, used alternatively with the low duty cycle type call. The results indicate the potential plasticity of the echolocation strategy in the species. Our finding of the species from Penang also highlights the conservation value of man-managed forest-liked habitats in maintaining bat species in urbanized landscapes.
Recent reports of the use of ultrasound for communication by nocturnal mammals have expanded our ... more Recent reports of the use of ultrasound for communication by nocturnal mammals have expanded our understanding of behaviour in these animals. The vocal repertoire of colugos has so far only been known to include audible sound. Here, we report the use of ultrasound calls by Sunda colugos (Galeopterus variegatus, order Dermoptera). We recorded one type of call emitted by seven individuals with mean individual frequencies between 37.4 ± 0.6 and 39.2 ± 0.7 kHz during its maximum energy and lasting 28.7 ± 1.6 to 46.9 ± 21.1 ms. Each call showed 3–36 sequential pulses with individual mean interpulse intervals between 423.0 ± 101.4 and 1230.0 ± 315.4 ms. High frequency calls may serve as cryptic anti-predator alarm calls. Our observations suggest that more species of nocturnal mammals may use ultrasound to communicate, and that further studies are needed to determine the occurrence, function and diversity of these calls.
Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecologic... more Recordings of bat echolocation and social calls are used for many research purposes from ecological studies to taxonomy. Effective use of these relies on identification of species from the recordings, but comparative recordings or detailed call descriptions to support identification are often lacking for areas with high biodiversity. The ChiroVox website (www.chirovox.org) was created to facilitate the sharing of bat sound recordings together with their metadata, including biodiversity data and recording circumstances. To date, more than 30 researchers have contributed over 3,900 recordings of nearly 200 species, making ChiroVox the largest open-access bat call library currently available. Each recording has a unique identifier that can be cited in publications; hence the acoustic analyses are repeatable. Most of the recordings available through the website are from bats whose species identities are confirmed, so they can be used to determine species in recordings where the bats wer...
The East Asian Tailless Leaf-nosed Bat (Coelops frithii) is a small hipposiderid species that wid... more The East Asian Tailless Leaf-nosed Bat (Coelops frithii) is a small hipposiderid species that widely distributed in the Asian tropics and subtropics, but rarely recorded across its distribution range. Here, we present the first record of C. frithii to Penang, Malaysia. An adult female was captured in Tropical Spice Garden in March 2015 by a harp trap. The record confirms the presence of the species nearly two decades after the last report from the country. We found that the bat used two varieties of echolocation calls. It typically used short frequency-modulated calls with high pitch and low duty cycles, which is similar to the calls reported from its congeneric. The second type of echolocation contains a short but higher duty cycle quasi-frequency-modulated call, used alternatively with the low duty cycle type call. The results indicate the potential plasticity of the echolocation strategy in the species. Our finding of the species from Penang also highlights the conservation value of man-managed forest-liked habitats in maintaining bat species in urbanized landscapes.
Recent reports of the use of ultrasound for communication by nocturnal mammals have expanded our ... more Recent reports of the use of ultrasound for communication by nocturnal mammals have expanded our understanding of behaviour in these animals. The vocal repertoire of colugos has so far only been known to include audible sound. Here, we report the use of ultrasound calls by Sunda colugos (Galeopterus variegatus, order Dermoptera). We recorded one type of call emitted by seven individuals with mean individual frequencies between 37.4 ± 0.6 and 39.2 ± 0.7 kHz during its maximum energy and lasting 28.7 ± 1.6 to 46.9 ± 21.1 ms. Each call showed 3–36 sequential pulses with individual mean interpulse intervals between 423.0 ± 101.4 and 1230.0 ± 315.4 ms. High frequency calls may serve as cryptic anti-predator alarm calls. Our observations suggest that more species of nocturnal mammals may use ultrasound to communicate, and that further studies are needed to determine the occurrence, function and diversity of these calls.
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