After recording and analyzing the bat calls, the scientists further determined that each vocalization had its own unique sound structure. Members of the same roost could even link songs to the correct singer when the caller was completely out of view. Carter and his team therefore believe the duets permit separated bats to reunite, with a little responsive singing help from their friends. He thinks each call might communicate the individual's identity, location and feelings. "It might be analogous to a person yelling, 'Hey! Hey! Hey!'" he said. "While there's still no distinct information in that message per se, a listener could still potentially determine who the person is, where they are, and how they feel." John Ratcliffe of the University of Southern Denmark's Center for Sound Communication also studies bats. He told Discovery News that the new study presents "truly fascinating" findings. Ratcliffe even thinks the bat's thirst for blood mixed with its charitable ways could be connected to the impressive duets. "White-winged vampires are one of a very few species of obligate blood feeding vertebrates in existence today, likely a reflection of the difficulties associated with securing a stomach's worth of blood from a living, breathing -- and surely unwilling -- large bird or mammal," he said. "In the wild, successful vampire bats sometimes share blood with their unsuccessful roost-mates," he added. "Such unselfish behavior is rare in animals and the current study intimates that reciprocal altruism among unrelated individuals may be mediated, in part, through vocal identification of individual roost mates." Related Links: |
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