Communication and Cooperation

本研究旨在确定功能和信息 一种大型的杂食性的 蝙蝠，大矛鼻蝙蝠。 丰富的声乐曲目， 不寻常的社会制度，不相关的女性形成长期- 持久的群体，并倾向于群体觅食， 产生响亮的声音，使这种蝙蝠非常适合 study. 威尔金森博士的研究旨在确定 广告和群体觅食的结果， 互惠互利 为了区分这些 替代方案，他将使用红外敏感视频， 计算机化记录设备进行观察， 在单独标记的蝙蝠上进行的回放实验， 洞穴栖息或觅食在三个月的领域 在西印度群岛的特立尼达岛工作 蝙蝠的声学分析 从已知的个体记录的发声将 用于指示可能被 包含在特定的呼叫中。 行为实验设计 来衡量群体觅食的能量效益， 信息交流，以及 信息传递，将在圈养蝙蝠上进行， 国家动物园，华盛顿，华盛顿特区，在七个月的时间里。 互惠的信息交换在所有人类社会中是普遍的 但对其他脊椎动物却一无所知， 黑猩猩和海豚。 因此，这项研究应该， 增加了我们对蝙蝠交流与合作的理解 并提供了对合作社发展的深入了解， 通信 另外，因为这种蝙蝠给花授粉 并从各种热带树木中传播种子， 了解它的觅食行为可能会提供有价值的 保护拉丁美洲雨林的信息。

This research aims to determine the function and information content of communication vocalizations of a large, omnivorous bat, the greater spear-nosed bat. The rich vocal repertoire, unusual social system in which unrelated females form long- lasting groups, and proclivity to forage in groups while producing loud, audible calls make this bat ideally suited for study. Dr. Wilkinson's research is designed to determine if vocal advertisement and group foraging result in reciprocated or mutualistic benefits. To discriminate between these alternatives, he will use infrared-sensitive video and computerized recording equipment to conduct observations and playback experiments on individually marked bats departing from cave roosts or foraging in groups during three months of field work in Trinidad, West Indies. Acoustic analysis of bat vocalizations recorded in the field from known individuals will be used to indicate the type of information that could be contained in particular calls. Behavioral experiments designed to measure the energetic benefits of group foraging and information exchange, as well as the mechanism by which information is transferred, will be conducted on captive bats at the National Zoo, Washington, D.C., over a seven-month period. Reciprocal information exchange is common in all human societies but is unknown for other vertebrates with the possible exception of chimpanzees and dolphins. This research should, therefore, add to our understanding of communication and cooperation in bats and provide insight into the evolution of cooperative communication. In addition, because this bat pollinates flowers and disperses seeds from a variety of tropical trees, an improved understanding of its foraging behavior may provide valuable information for conserving Latin American rain forests.