WEBVTT - Can Bats Jam Each Other's Sonar?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, their

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<v Speaker 1>brain stuff Lauren Vogel bomb here. All creatures living in

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<v Speaker 1>the wild will try to gain an advantage when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to finding their next meal. Some animals will use

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<v Speaker 1>their size big or small, while others rely on speed

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<v Speaker 1>or the ability to make a threatening sound. But the

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<v Speaker 1>bat has a different kind of trick up its sleeve

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<v Speaker 1>or wing signal jamming. That's are nocturnal hunting mainly in

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<v Speaker 1>the darkness of night. They eat prey that's tiny and quiet,

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<v Speaker 1>like moths and other insects, which can be difficult to

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<v Speaker 1>find in low light and darkness. Although the expression blind

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<v Speaker 1>is a bat is widely used, bats are not blind.

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<v Speaker 1>They just use a means of locating these tiny tidbits

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<v Speaker 1>of dinner other than sight. When it's time to find food,

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<v Speaker 1>bats emit a series of high pitched sounds into the

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<v Speaker 1>darkness that bounce back when they hit an object. When

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<v Speaker 1>a bat hears the echoing sound, it knows an object

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<v Speaker 1>is nearby, and it flies closer to the source of

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<v Speaker 1>the echo to send out more signals. As the echo

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<v Speaker 1>back sound increase as an intensity, the bat knows it's

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<v Speaker 1>getting closer to the prey, and it keeps up this

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<v Speaker 1>echolocation until it can swoop in for the kill. While

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<v Speaker 1>primarily using sonar to find food, it turns out the

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<v Speaker 1>bats can also use their sonar in a hostile and

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<v Speaker 1>competitive way. Wake Forest University researcher William Connor and his

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<v Speaker 1>University of Maryland colleague Aaron Corcoran used audio and video

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<v Speaker 1>systems to observe the behavior of Mexican freetailed bats as

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<v Speaker 1>they hunted for tiger moths, a favorite snack, but favorite

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<v Speaker 1>snack of the bats not the researchers. They found that

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<v Speaker 1>the bats emitted a specific sound that was successful in

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<v Speaker 1>interfering with the sonar of other prey seeking bats of

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<v Speaker 1>the same species. They called this process sweep jamming. The

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<v Speaker 1>study concludes that bats admit this sound intentionally to interfere

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<v Speaker 1>with the sonar of food seeking competitors. When the researchers

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<v Speaker 1>played back recordings of this jamming sound to other bats

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<v Speaker 1>in search of insects, those bats were also thrown off track.

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<v Speaker 1>The sound made the bats sent more likely to miss

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<v Speaker 1>their prey target. The scientists expire rented with other sounds,

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<v Speaker 1>like white noise, but those did not interfere with the

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<v Speaker 1>bats sonar. In the natural world, sonar and echolocation aren't

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<v Speaker 1>exclusive to bats. Mammals such as dolphins and other toothed

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<v Speaker 1>whales also use it to find their way, and humans

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<v Speaker 1>too have adapted technology to mimic this process. Ships regularly

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<v Speaker 1>use sonar to help them navigate and to explore what's

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<v Speaker 1>in the water under and around them. Sonar can indicate

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<v Speaker 1>the presence of another ship, a dangerous obstacle, or aquatic life.

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<v Speaker 1>In warfare, sonar can be life saving, cluing a ship

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<v Speaker 1>in about the presence of a hostile submarine or an

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<v Speaker 1>enemy torpedo. Technology can even jam the sonar of other ships,

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<v Speaker 1>just like bats. There's no evidence yet that other animals

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<v Speaker 1>that use echolocation for hunting employ signal jamming, but bats

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<v Speaker 1>seem to have perfected the process of jamming one another signals,

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<v Speaker 1>all in the search for a better meal. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Debbie Swanson and produced by Tristan McNeil.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other jam and

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<v Speaker 1>topics are visit our own planet how Stuff Works dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>M HM