Echolocation call characters of Painted Bat (Kerivoula picta) in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Kerivoula picta (Pallas, 1767) is one of most colorful Vespertilionid bat recorded in South and South-east Asian countries. It is a common yet an elusive bat, roosting among foliage, in small numbers. Although analysis of Echolocation calls of bats have become an important parameter in taxonomy, foraging and roosting behavior of bats, echolocation call characters of K. picta has been poorly documented and not described in Sri Lanka at all. In the present study, echolocation call characters of the K. picta are described for the first time in Sri Lanka and for the second time in the world. Calls were recorded from an adult female (captured on 10th September 2018 at Dickwella of Southern Sri Lanka), in a completely sealed, clutter free room (4m x 3m x 3m) with facilitating free flying. Echolocation calls of free flying bat were recorded using a Pettersson M500 microphone and BatSound Touch software on an ASUS Core i5 laptop as sound files (.wav). Frequency of maximum Energy (FME), Start frequency (SF), End frequency (EF), Call duration (CD) and Bandwidth (BW) was measured and analyzed for 100 echolocation calls with high signal-to-noise ratio using BatSound Pro v.3.32. Painted bat produced high-frequency, broadband frequency modulated (FM) sweeps of short duration. Echolocation call characteristics (mean ± SD: Range) recorded were; FME - 157.83 ± 21.2 kHz (108.7-183.8 kHz), SF - 198.66 ± 15.01 kHz (152.0-217.0 kHz), EF - 103.94 ± 4.5 kHz (91.0-111.0 kHz), CD - 2.52 ± 0.3 ms (1.8-3.1 ms), BW 94.72 ± 16.8 kHz (44-124 kHz). Start frequency and frequency of maximum energy of Sri Lankan K. picta are significantly different from the same characters documented in India. But, end frequency of both studies has no significant difference. However, further studies are essential to understand bioacoustics of K. picta in its range.

Full text

Echolocation call characters of Painted Bat (Kerivoula picta) in Sri Lanka
Kerivoula picta (Pallas, 1767) is one of most colorful Vespertilionid bat recorded in South and
South-east Asian countries. It is a common yet an elusive bat, roosting among foliage, in small
numbers. Although analysis of Echolocation calls of bats have become an important parameter
in taxonomy, foraging and roosting behavior of bats, echolocation call characters of K. picta has
been poorly documented and not described in Sri Lanka at all. In the present study,
echolocation call characters of the K. picta are described for the first time in Sri Lanka and for
the second time in the world. Calls were recorded from an adult female (captured on 10th
September 2018 at Dickwella of Southern Sri Lanka), in a completely sealed, clutter free room
(4m x 3m x 3m) with facilitating free flying. Echolocation calls of free flying bat were recorded
using a Pettersson M500 microphone and BatSound Touch software on an ASUS Core i5 laptop
as sound files (.wav). Frequency of maximum Energy (FME), Start frequency (SF), End frequency
(EF), Call duration (CD) and Bandwidth (BW) was measured and analyzed for 100 echolocation
calls with high signal-to-noise ratio using BatSound Pro v.3.32. Painted bat produced high-
frequency, broadband frequency modulated (FM) sweeps of short duration. Echolocation call
characteristics (mean ± SD: Range) recorded were; FME - 157.83 ± 21.2 kHz (108.7-183.8 kHz),
SF - 198.66 ± 15.01 kHz (152.0-217.0 kHz), EF - 103.94 ± 4.5 kHz (91.0-111.0 kHz), CD - 2.52 ± 0.3
ms (1.8-3.1 ms), BW 94.72 ± 16.8 kHz (44-124 kHz). Start frequency and frequency of maximum
energy of Sri Lankan K. picta are significantly different from the same characters documented in
India. But, end frequency of both studies has no significant difference. However, further studies
are essential to understand bioacoustics of K. picta in its range.
Keywords: Painted bat, Echolocation calls, Sri Lanka, Bioacoustics