• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, August 1, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

When does noise become a meaningful message?

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
February 6, 2019
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Bats tricked by the sound of rain

Credit: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Background noise is generally regarded as a nuisance that can mask important sounds. But noise can be beneficial too. It can convey information about important environmental conditions and allow animals to make informed decisions. When bat researchers recorded and played back rain sounds for two different species of bats, both species chose to delay emergence from their roosts.

“Bats are acoustic specialists,” said Inga Geipel, a Tupper Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. “They are active at night and depend on sound to navigate their environment and to find food. When they hear the sound of rain at sunset, they decide to stay inside their roosts for a while longer.”

Bats have good reasons not to want to go out in the rain, as wet bats spend more energy when flying. Further, rain might also have a strong impact on the bats ability to navigate and find food through sound. Rain noise could mask prey sounds or jam the echolocation system of the hunting bats.

Geipel and colleagues investigated the effect of rain noise on bat decision making. They studied two different species of bats: the common big-eared bat (Micronycteris microtis), which catches insects from leaves and other surfaces in forest understory, and the Pallas’s mastiff bat (Molossus molossus) that hunts insects on the wing as they fly through open spaces.

“We wondered whether bats are staying longer in the safety of their roosts during rain storms and whether noise would inform them about the rainfall outside,” Geipel said.

To test their ideas, Geipel and her team put a speaker near entrances of bat roosts and broadcast recordings of heavy downpours. Simultaneously, they video-recorded the responses of the bats. For comparison, they also played recordings of normal forest sounds. Both species delayed their emergence from their roosts when they heard the sound of rain.

The scientists also observed that the big-eared bats rapidly flew in and out of their roosts on short ‘exploration flights,’ likely meant to gather direct information about environmental conditions.

“Noise is often thought to be a nuisance with negative consequences,” Geipel said. “But through this study we show that noise can actually be used as a salient informational cue. It can provide individuals with important information about their environment and when it’s safe to hunt.”

###

Reference: Geipel, I., Smeekes, M.J., Halfwerk, W., Page, R.A. 2019. Noise as an informational cue for decision making: the sound of rain delays bat emergence. Journal of Experimental Biology. 222, jeb192005. doi:10.1242/jeb.192005

Media Contact
Elisabeth B King
[email protected]
202-633-4700 x28216

Original Source

https://stri.si.edu/story/perception

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.192005

Tags: BiologyClimate ChangeEarth ScienceEcology/EnvironmentPets/EthologyZoology/Veterinary Science
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Physicists Unravel the Enigma of Mysterious Membrane Dynamics

Physicists Unravel the Enigma of Mysterious Membrane Dynamics

August 1, 2025
blank

Yellowstone Wolves Travel Extensive Distances to Remain Close to Prey

August 1, 2025

Beyond Inversions: Genome Evolution Through Translocations and Fusions

August 1, 2025

US Youth Smartphone Usage Patterns During School Hours: Insights and Implications

August 1, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Study Reveals Beta-HPV Directly Causes Skin Cancer in Immunocompromised Individuals

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9
  • Sustainability Accelerator Chooses 41 Promising Projects Poised for Rapid Scale-Up

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Physicists Unravel the Enigma of Mysterious Membrane Dynamics

Niclosamide Nanohybrid Trial for Mild-Moderate COVID-19

HADHA Controls JAK/STAT3 in Glioblastoma via Metabolism

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.