"Zen" Bats Hit Target by Not Aiming at it!

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- New research conducted at the University of Maryland's bat lab shows Egyptian fruit bats find a target by NOT aiming their guiding sonar directly at it. Instead, they alternately point the sound beam to either side of the target and then "lock in" with much more closely placed beams. The new finding by researchers from Maryland and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel suggests that this strategy optimizes the bats' ability to pinpoint the location of a target, but also makes it harder for them to detect the target in the first place. We think that this tradeoff between detecting a object and determining its location is fundamental to any process that involves tracking an object whether done by a bat, dog or human, and whether accomplished through hearing, smell or sight, said coauthor Cynthia Moss, a University of Maryland professor of psychology, who directs interdisciplinary research in the universitys bat lab.
See the release online at: http://bit.ly/9oDpj5

Lee Tune
Associate Director
University Communications
University of Maryland
301-405-4679
ltune@umd.edu

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• University of Maryland
• Bat Lab
• Cynthia Moss
• Weizmann Institute of Science

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