Investigation of the foraging and social behaviour of bats with wireless sensor systems

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Prototypes of mobile sensor nodes have already been successfully tested on bats in their natural habitats. The next step will be to collect extensive datasets for different questions in the field of behavioural ecology. First, we will study the dynamics of social groups of bats by continuous documentation of individual contacts in the roost as well as in the foraging habitat. For this, a wake-up receiver has to be integrated in the mobile nodes in order to become independent of stationary ground nodes for synchronisation of mobile nodes. Second, we will also study habitat use of individual bats at high resolution by reconstructing flight trajectories. This will be made possible by developing a dense network of ground nodes, which also allows experimental approaches. Within the network of ground nodes we will play back acoustic signals to the bats. Two types of signals will be used: Signals of potential prey, which may act as a positive cue, and calls of potential predators as putative negative cues. The bat's response will be monitored by a change of its flight path. So far, such experiments with individual bats could be only conducted in flight cages but not in their natural environment.