Presentation Details
| Evidence that vampire bats use vocal matching to address specific group members Nakul Wewhare1, Julia K Vrtilek2, Gerald G Carter1, 3, 4, . 1Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.2The Ohio State University, colombus, OH, USA.3Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.4Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama city Panama |
Abstract
In group-living animals, individuals can often benefit from directing vocalizations to specific individuals. Common vampire bats form cooperative relationships with certain group members. In the complete darkness of their roosts, they recognize and find these social partners using individually variable contact calls. But how can a calling bat “address” a specific recipient in a dark, crowded, and noisy environment? Studies of dolphins and parrots suggest that callers can increase the likelihood of response by producing a call that resembles the intended receiver’s calls. To test this vocal matching hypothesis, we recorded vocal interactions within isolated pairs of 8 bats. To determine if call responses were predicted by vocal matching, we first quantified pairwise call similarity using DTW. We then fit a model to determine if the probability of a response was greater when a bat’s calls were more similar to the partner’s previous calls. We found that receivers were more likely to respond to calls that were more similar to their own recent calls. These results support that vampire bats use rapid vocal convergence to address specific social partners.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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