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

移动传感器节点的原型已经在蝙蝠的自然栖息地进行了成功的测试。下一步将是为行为生态学领域的不同问题收集广泛的数据集。首先，我们将通过不断记录蝙蝠在栖息地和觅食栖息地的个体接触来研究蝙蝠社会群体的动态。为此，必须在移动节点中集成唤醒接收器，以便独立于用于同步移动节点的固定地面节点。其次，我们还将通过重建飞行轨迹来研究个体蝙蝠在高分辨率下的栖息地利用。这将通过开发密集的地面节点网络来实现，这也允许采用实验方法。在地面节点的网络中，我们将向蝙蝠回放声音信号。将使用两种类型的信号：潜在猎物的信号，这可能是一个积极的信号，以及潜在捕食者的叫声作为假定的负面信号。蝙蝠的反应将通过改变飞行路线来监测。到目前为止，这样的蝙蝠个体实验只能在飞行笼子里进行，而不能在它们的自然环境中进行。

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.