Spectrally non-overlapping background noise disturbs echolocation via acoustic masking in the CF-FM bat, Hipposideros pratti

Hipposideros pratti called at higher intensities while keeping the constant frequencies of their echolocation pulses consistent under spectrally non-overlapping background noise conditions. The noise could decrease auditory sensitivity and sharp intensity tuning, suggesting an acoustic masking effect. These results provide further evidence of negative consequences of anthropogenic noise. The environment noise may disturb animal behavior and echolocation via three potential mechanisms: acoustic masking, reduced attention and noise avoidance. Compared with the mechanisms of reduced attention and noise avoidance, acoustic masking is thought to occur only when the signal and background noise overlap spectrally and temporally. In this study, we investigated the effects of spectrally non-overlapping noise on echolocation pulses and electrophysiological responses of a constant frequency-frequency modulation (CF-FM) bat, Hipposideros pratti. We found that H. pratti called at higher intensities while keeping the CFs of their echolocation pulses consistent. Electrophysiological tests indicated that the noise could decrease auditory sensitivity and sharp intensity tuning, suggesting that spectrally non-overlapping noise imparts an acoustic masking effect. Because anthropogenic noises are usually concentrated at low frequencies and are spectrally non-overlapping with the bat's echolocation pulses, our results provide further evidence of negative consequences of anthropogenic noise. On this basis, we sound a warning against noise in the foraging habitats of echolocating bats.

Automated summary

This study found that spectrally non-overlapping noise can cause an acoustic masking effect on the echolocation signals of a certain bat species, leading to increased intensity. This highlights the negative consequences of anthropogenic noise on animal behavior and echolocation. The mechanisms involved may include acoustic masking, reduced attention, and noise avoidance.