通过使用一种新型反向GPS系统进行精确追踪，研究人员对野生库尔蝙蝠进行了转移，并在操控其视觉、磁场和嗅觉感知的同时追踪其归巢能力。研究人员发现，蝙蝠能够在转移后识别其位置，并仅依靠回声定位进行几公里的基于地图的导航。这一观点得到了大规模回声定位模型的进一步支持，该模型揭示了蝙蝠如何利用环境声学信息进行基于声学认知地图的导航。研究人员还证明，当同时使用回声定位和视觉时，导航效果会有所提升。
据悉，蝙蝠以其利用回声定位进行障碍避让和定向的能力而闻名。然而，蝙蝠在公里级导航中利用其高度局部和方向性的回声定位的程度仍然未知。
附：英文原文
Title: Acoustic cognitive map–based navigation in echolocating bats
Author: Aya Goldshtein, Xing Chen, Eran Amichai, Arjan Boonman, Lee Harten, Omer Yinon, Yotam Orchan, Ran Nathan, Sivan Toledo, Iain D. Couzin, Yossi Yovel
Issue&Volume: 2024-11-01
Abstract: Bats are known for their ability to use echolocation for obstacle avoidance and orientation. However, the extent to which bats utilize their highly local and directional echolocation for kilometer-scale navigation is unknown. In this study, we translocated wild Kuhl’s pipistrelle bats and tracked their homing abilities while manipulating their visual, magnetic, and olfactory sensing and accurately tracked them using a new reverse GPS system. We show that bats can identify their location after translocation and conduct several-kilometer map-based navigation using solely echolocation. This proposition was further supported by a large-scale echolocation model disclosing how bats use environmental acoustic information to perform acoustic cognitive map–based navigation. We also demonstrate that navigation is improved when using both echolocation and vision.
DOI: adn6269
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn6269