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Hermans C, Koblitz JC, Bartholomeus H, Stilz P, Visser ME, Spoelstra K. Combining acoustic tracking and LiDAR to study bat flight behaviour in three-dimensional space. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:25. [PMID: 37101233 PMCID: PMC10131301 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00387-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Habitat structure strongly influences niche differentiation, facilitates predator avoidance, and drives species-specific foraging strategies of bats. Vegetation structure is also a strong driver of echolocation call characteristics. The fine-scale assessment of how bats utilise such structures in their natural habitat is instrumental in understanding how habitat composition shapes flight- and acoustic behaviour. However, it is notoriously difficult to study their species-habitat relationship in situ. METHODS Here, we describe a methodology combining Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to characterise three-dimensional vegetation structure and acoustic tracking to map bat behaviour. This makes it possible to study fine-scale use of habitat by bats, which is essential to understand spatial niche segregation in bats. Bats were acoustically tracked with microphone arrays and bat calls were classified to bat guild using automated identification. We did this in multiple LiDAR scanned vegetation plots in forest edge habitat. The datasets were spatially aligned to calculate the distance between bats' positions and vegetation structures. RESULTS Our results are a proof of concept of combining LiDAR with acoustic tracking. Although it entails challenges with combining mass-volumes of fine-scale bat movements and vegetation information, we show the feasibility and potential of combining those two methods through two case studies. The first one shows stereotyped flight patterns of pipistrelles around tree trunks, while the second one presents the distance that bats keep to the vegetation in the presence of artificial light. CONCLUSION By combining bat guild specific spatial behaviour with precise information on vegetation structure, the bat guild specific response to habitat characteristics can be studied in great detail. This opens up the possibility to address yet unanswered questions on bat behaviour, such as niche segregation or response to abiotic factors in interaction with natural vegetation. This combination of techniques can also pave the way for other applications linking movement patterns of other vocalizing animals and 3D space reconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Hermans
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Jens C Koblitz
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Constance, Germany
| | - Harm Bartholomeus
- Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Stilz
- Animal Physiology, Institute for Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kamiel Spoelstra
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Verreycken E, Simon R, Quirk-Royal B, Daems W, Barber J, Steckel J. Bio-acoustic tracking and localization using heterogeneous, scalable microphone arrays. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1275. [PMID: 34759372 PMCID: PMC8581004 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02746-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Microphone arrays are an essential tool in the field of bioacoustics as they provide a non-intrusive way to study animal vocalizations and monitor their movement and behavior. Microphone arrays can be used for passive localization and tracking of sound sources while analyzing beamforming or spatial filtering of the emitted sound. Studying free roaming animals usually requires setting up equipment over large areas and attaching a tracking device to the animal which may alter their behavior. However, monitoring vocalizing animals through arrays of microphones, spatially distributed over their habitat has the advantage that unrestricted/unmanipulated animals can be observed. Important insights have been achieved through the use of microphone arrays, such as the convergent acoustic field of view in echolocating bats or context-dependent functions of avian duets. Here we show the development and application of large flexible microphone arrays that can be used to localize and track any vocalizing animal and study their bio-acoustic behavior. In a first experiment with hunting pallid bats the acoustic data acquired from a dense array with 64 microphones revealed details of the bats' echolocation beam in previously unseen resolution. We also demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed microphone array system in a second experiment, where we used a different array architecture allowing to simultaneously localize several species of vocalizing songbirds in a radius of 75 m. Our technology makes it possible to do longer measurement campaigns over larger areas studying changing habitats and providing new insights for habitat conservation. The flexible nature of the technology also makes it possible to create dense microphone arrays that can enhance our understanding in various fields of bioacoustics and can help to tackle the analytics of complex behaviors of vocalizing animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Verreycken
- CoSys-Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
- Flanders Make, Strategic Research Centre, Lommel, Belgium.
| | - Ralph Simon
- CoSys-Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Flanders Make, Strategic Research Centre, Lommel, Belgium
- Nuremberg Zoo, Am Tiergarten 30, 90480, Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Brandt Quirk-Royal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
| | - Walter Daems
- CoSys-Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Flanders Make, Strategic Research Centre, Lommel, Belgium
| | - Jesse Barber
- Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
| | - Jan Steckel
- CoSys-Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Flanders Make, Strategic Research Centre, Lommel, Belgium
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Barré K, Kerbiriou C, Ing RK, Bas Y, Azam C, Le Viol I, Spoelstra K. Bats seek refuge in cluttered environment when exposed to white and red lights at night. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:3. [PMID: 33482918 PMCID: PMC7821510 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-020-00238-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Artificial light at night is recognized as an increasing threat to biodiversity. However, information on the way highly mobile taxa such as bats spatially respond to light is limited. Following the hypothesis of a behavioural adaptation to the perceived risks of predation, we hypothesised that bats should avoid lit areas by shifting their flight route to less exposed conditions. METHODS Using 3D acoustic localization at four experimentally illuminated sites, we studied how the distance to streetlights emitting white and red light affected the Probability of bats Flying Inside the Forest (PFIF) versus along the forest edge. RESULTS We show that open-, edge-, and narrow-space foraging bats strongly change flight patterns by increasing PFIF when getting closer to white and red streetlights placed in the forest edge. These behavioural changes occurred mainly on the streetlight side where light was directed. CONCLUSIONS The results show that bats cope with light exposure by actively seeking refuge in cluttered environment, potentially due to involved predation risks. This is a clear indication that bats make use of landscape structures when reacting to light, and shows the potential of vegetation and streetlight orientation in mitigating effects of light. The study nevertheless calls for preserving darkness as the most efficient way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kévin Barré
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, CP 135, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France.
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Station de Biologie Marine, 1 place de la Croix, 29900, Concarneau, France.
| | - Christian Kerbiriou
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, CP 135, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Station de Biologie Marine, 1 place de la Croix, 29900, Concarneau, France
| | - Ros-Kiri Ing
- Institut Langevin, UMR 7587 CNRS, Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7), 1 rue Jussieu, 75238, Paris, France
| | - Yves Bas
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, CP 135, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier, France
| | - Clémentine Azam
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, CP 135, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Le Viol
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, CP 135, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Station de Biologie Marine, 1 place de la Croix, 29900, Concarneau, France
| | - Kamiel Spoelstra
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), PO Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Barré K, Spoelstra K, Bas Y, Challéat S, Kiri Ing R, Azam C, Zissis G, Lapostolle D, Kerbiriou C, Le Viol I. Artificial light may change flight patterns of bats near bridges along urban waterways. Anim Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- K. Barré
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Sorbonne Université Paris France
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelleStation de Biologie Marine Concarneau France
| | - K. Spoelstra
- Department of Animal EcologyNetherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Y. Bas
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Sorbonne Université Paris France
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175CNRS Montpellier France
| | - S. Challéat
- Géographie de l’Environnement (GÉODE) UMR 5602 CNRSUniversité Toulouse 2 ‐ Jean Jaurès Toulouse Cedex 9 France
| | - R. Kiri Ing
- Institut LangevinUMR 7587 CNRSUniversité Paris Diderot (Paris 7) Paris France
| | - C. Azam
- Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la NatureMusée de l’Homme Paris France
| | - G. Zissis
- Université Toulouse 3LAPLACEUMR‐5213 CNRS‐INPT‐UT3 Toulouse France
| | - D. Lapostolle
- Théoriser et Modéliser pour Aménager (ThéMA) UMR 6049 CNRSUniversité Bourgogne Franche‐Comté Besançon France
| | - C. Kerbiriou
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Sorbonne Université Paris France
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelleStation de Biologie Marine Concarneau France
| | - I. Le Viol
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Sorbonne Université Paris France
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) Muséum national d'Histoire naturelleStation de Biologie Marine Concarneau France
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Rhinehart TA, Chronister LM, Devlin T, Kitzes J. Acoustic localization of terrestrial wildlife: Current practices and future opportunities. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6794-6818. [PMID: 32724552 PMCID: PMC7381569 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Autonomous acoustic recorders are an increasingly popular method for low-disturbance, large-scale monitoring of sound-producing animals, such as birds, anurans, bats, and other mammals. A specialized use of autonomous recording units (ARUs) is acoustic localization, in which a vocalizing animal is located spatially, usually by quantifying the time delay of arrival of its sound at an array of time-synchronized microphones. To describe trends in the literature, identify considerations for field biologists who wish to use these systems, and suggest advancements that will improve the field of acoustic localization, we comprehensively review published applications of wildlife localization in terrestrial environments. We describe the wide variety of methods used to complete the five steps of acoustic localization: (1) define the research question, (2) obtain or build a time-synchronizing microphone array, (3) deploy the array to record sounds in the field, (4) process recordings captured in the field, and (5) determine animal location using position estimation algorithms. We find eight general purposes in ecology and animal behavior for localization systems: assessing individual animals' positions or movements, localizing multiple individuals simultaneously to study their interactions, determining animals' individual identities, quantifying sound amplitude or directionality, selecting subsets of sounds for further acoustic analysis, calculating species abundance, inferring territory boundaries or habitat use, and separating animal sounds from background noise to improve species classification. We find that the labor-intensive steps of processing recordings and estimating animal positions have not yet been automated. In the near future, we expect that increased availability of recording hardware, development of automated and open-source localization software, and improvement of automated sound classification algorithms will broaden the use of acoustic localization. With these three advances, ecologists will be better able to embrace acoustic localization, enabling low-disturbance, large-scale collection of animal position data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa A. Rhinehart
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPAUSA
| | | | - Trieste Devlin
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPAUSA
| | - Justin Kitzes
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPAUSA
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Hassanin A, Colombo R, Gembu GC, Merle M, Tu VT, Görföl T, Akawa PM, Csorba G, Kearney T, Monadjem A, Ing RK. Multilocus phylogeny and species delimitation within the genusGlauconycteris(Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), with the description of a new bat species from the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Hassanin
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité; Univ Paris 06, MNHN, CNRS; Sorbonne Universités; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Paris France
- UMS 2700; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle; Paris France
| | | | - Guy-Crispin Gembu
- Université de Kisangani; Faculté des Sciences; Kisangani République Démocratique du Congo
| | - Marie Merle
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité; Univ Paris 06, MNHN, CNRS; Sorbonne Universités; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Paris France
| | - Vuong Tan Tu
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité; Univ Paris 06, MNHN, CNRS; Sorbonne Universités; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Paris France
- Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources; Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; Cau Giay District Hanoi Vietnam
| | | | - Prescott Musaba Akawa
- Université de Kisangani; Faculté des Sciences; Kisangani République Démocratique du Congo
| | | | - Teresa Kearney
- Ditsong National Museum of Natural History; Pretoria South Africa
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Wits South Africa
| | - Ara Monadjem
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Swaziland; Kwaluseni Swaziland
- Department of Zoology & Entomology; Mammal Research Institute; University of Pretoria; Pretoria South Africa
| | - Ros Kiri Ing
- Institut Langevin, UMR 7587 CNRS; Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7); Paris France
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