Eptesicus Fuscus VS Bertholdia Trigona The Experiment

Background Info In Nature, bats use ultrasonic radars to capture prey Hypothesis: Ultrasonic clicks produced by moths jamming radar of bats? Experiment conducted in controlled area with two naive brown bats and one experienced brown bat Two types of moths were used: clicking and non- clicking moths

Background on bat Theory that bats will not attack if it hears the clicking of moth Clicks might cause bat to become confused in environment? Bats use echolocation to capture prey because they are most reliant on their ears, not eyesight

Rationale for Experiment Experiment with moths with high acoustic clicks like the Bertholdia Trigona (aka Tiger Moth) To observe the affects of the clicking of moths on the brown bats Prove that clicks alone do not cause bats to stop attacking moths no accompanied bad smell or taste

What was used? Experiment was conducted in a dark room Four bats were used (Brown Bats) E. fucus Only three were observed, 2 naive bats and 1 experienced bat. Different types of moths used Tiger moths and wax moths (four silent tiger moths and 8 wax moths) wax moths used for training naive bats

How they did it? There were multiple nights of testing Sensitive (High Speed) Infrared Cameras observe bat behavior and attacks on moths Ultrasonic microphone Used to record the clicks and sounds of moths and bats

Control Group Bats were put into flight room with wax moths wax moths became control group Bats hunted wax moths regularly, and without difficulty Bats came in contact 100% with the wax moth control group

What Happens now? Tethered and non-tethered moths used in flight rooms In the 9 nights, 7 of the nights had the clicking tiger moth with the 3 brown bats Bats were observed, still attacked tiger moth, however all three bats had difficulty The last two nights, non-clicking moths were presented Bats hunted the moths like regular prey, no difficulty in capturing

Conclusion Tiger Moths able to jam sonar with clicks Experienced bats still had difficulty capturing B. Trigona Tracking prey had an irregular pattern (terminal, track, approach etc) Loud clicking moths are more effective in sonar jamming than low clicking moths

ExperimenT Suggestions Have a bigger group of bats More natural environment More time

Additional Questions Could it be possible that the clicking of the moths cause loss of sense of direction. Will the brown bat be able to adapt to the clicks of the moths over time?

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