Bats use touch as well as echolocation
20 December 2005
by Carina
Lee
|
Bats have a "feel" for navigating around, they don't just use echolocation. This is according to the studies undertaken by neurobiologist, John Zook, at the Ohio University. Not only can they determine their physical environment by listening to echoes, but their wings possess touch-sensitive receptors, which help bats hunt and navigate at night. However, this theory is not a new one. In the 1780s French biologist, Georges Cuvier, first proposed that bats navigated by feeling around. This theory soon faded when scientists discovered echolocation in the 1930s. By combining these two techniques, bats are able to detect their surroundings while being able to keep steady on their flight path. In bats, Merkel cells are sensitive to air-flow across the wing. After recording the electrical activity of these cells, Zook observed that tiny hairs were stimulated by particularly turbulent air-flow. It was subsequently tested and observed that these hairs, when stimulated by the touch-receptor cells, are essential for bats to maintain aerodynamically sound in mid-flight. "It was obvious they had trouble maintaining elevation on a turn," Zook explained. "Without the hairs, the bats were increasing the curve of their wings too much or not enough." |
 
photo by: John Zook, Ohio University |
Related Links
Original release from Ohio University
Nature
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