@article {57651,
	title = {Does bat response to traffic noise support the misleading cue hypothesis?Abstract},
	year = {2019},
	abstract = {<p>The world has become a noisier place due to the increase in urbanization. Noise is generally considered an impediment, altering an animal\&rsquo;s behavior through masking or distraction. But noise can also provide useful information about the environment. For animals that rely on natural environmental noise as an indicator of favorable foraging conditions, increasing levels of anthropogenic noise might mislead informed decision-making. Bats use rain noise, a natural environmental cue, to delay their emergence from the roost, presumably to avoid sensory and metabolic costs associated with foraging in heavy rain. Here we tested the \&ldquo;misleading cue hypothesis,\&rdquo; asking whether traffic noise is mistaken for rain noise by bats. Given the acoustic similarity between rain noise and traffic noise, we predicted that bats would confuse the two. We conducted a playback experiment using rain, traffic, and ambient noise at natural roosts of common big-eared bats (Micronycteris microtis, Phyllostomidae) and recorded bat emergence behavior. In contrast to their response to rain noise, the bats did not delay roost emergence in response to traffic noise. Thus, we found that bats were able to discriminate between traffic noise and rain noise and were not misled by similarity in acoustic parameters in the two noise types, when emerging from their roost. Emerging bats did show more exploration flights during traffic noise than during rain noise, but not during ambient noise, suggesting that they perceive traffic noise as a novel acoustic cue. Our data provide new insights into perception of traffic noise by bats.</p>
},
	keywords = {anthropogenic noise, bats, evolutionary trap, Micronycteris microtis, misleading cues, Traffic noise},
	doi = {10.1093/beheco/arz148},
	url = {https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/30/6/1775/5574811},
	author = {Geipel, Inga and Amin, Bawan and Rachel A. Page and Halfwerk, Wouter},
	editor = {Candolin, Ulrika}
}
@article {53540,
	title = {Noise as an informational cue for decision-making: the sound of rain delays bat emergence},
	journal = {The Journal of Experimental Biology},
	year = {2019},
	month = {Sep-01-2020},
	pages = {jeb.192005},
	abstract = {<p>Background noise can have strong negative consequences on animals, reducing individual fitness by masking communication signals, impeding prey detection and increasing predation risk. While the negative impacts of noise across taxa have been well documented, the use of noise as an informational cue, providing animals with reliable information on environmental conditions has been less well studied. In the tropical rainforest, downpours can be intense and frequent. Strong rainfall may impede efficient orientation and foraging for bats that need echolocation to both navigate and detect prey, and can result in higher flight costs due to increased metabolic rates. Using playback experiments at natural roosts we tested whether two bat species, differing in their hunting strategies and foraging habitats, use rain noise as a cue to delay emergence from their roosts. We found that both species significantly delayed their emergence time during rain noise playbacks compared to silence and ambient noise controls. We conclude that bats can use background noise, here the acoustic component of rainfall, as a reliable informational cue to make informed decisions, here about whether to initiate foraging trips or remain in the shelter of their roosts. Our findings suggest that environmental background noise can sometimes be beneficial to animals, in particular in situations where other sensory cues may be absent.</p>
},
	keywords = {bats, decision-making, foraging, information cues, Noise, rain},
	issn = {0022-0949},
	doi = {10.1242/jeb.192005},
	url = {http://jeb.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/jeb.192005https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1242/jeb.192005https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1242/jeb.192005},
	author = {Geipel, Inga and Smeekes, Marcus J. and Halfwerk, Wouter and Rachel A. Page}
}
