What is echolocation?

Echolocation is also referred to as biological sonar, it is used by bats, whales, dolphins,

and other certain animals to navigate without needing their sense of sight. Echolocation
is defined as the physiological mechanism used by certain animals to locate objects
using sound waves and echoes.

A certain group of animals has developed the ability to detect objects by emitting sound
and hearing the echoes reflected by the objects to their ears. The acoustic properties of
the echoes and the auditory system of these animals act as a representative of the
location and characteristics of the objects.

The most known echolocating animals are bats, toothed whales, and some kinds of
mammals and birds.

What problem in the life of the animal does echolocation solve?

Starting off with bats, bats are nocturnal meaning they are mostly active at night. They
have poor eyesight and thus depend on their sense of hearing to find their way around
in the dark. For instance, they navigate through ultrasound frequencies, which are
higher sound waves than the normal human range of audibility. When their soundwaves
move across the air, solid surfaces reflect them off, soft surfaces absorb them and then
they transmit when released. The reflected echoes and soundwaves grant bats the
ability to find food, support them in avoiding obstacles on their way around, and allow
them to communicate with other bats.

Figure 2 illustrates the bat detecting an obstacle using the echo, which was the tree.
Also, discerning whether the moth is flying away from or towards it depends on the
amplitude. The second image displays that the moth is moving away; the bat would be
hearing that like a softer sound than when it is moving towards the bat depicting a
louder sound.

Secondly dolphins, dolphins use echolocation to navigate their environment and locate
and protect themselves from predators in muddy or gloomy waters. Although they have
a very weak sense of sight in deep dark waters, they rely on echolocation through the
emissions of sound.

To echolocate, dolphins emit short broad-spectrum burst pulses that sound to us like
"clicks” from their respiratory cavities. The sound waves released from the phonic lips
are sent to the anterior bursa which then transmits these vibrations to the melon, which
is the dolphin forebrain. Consequently, the melon concentrates information and reflects
them back like beams. Once the echo is released forward, the sound waves reflect back
from objects that are in the water.

Figure 3 demonstrates a dolphin’s head anatomy and how it allows it to echolocate.

Complex and alluring, the dolphin’s natural sonar is so accurate it can detect the size,
shape, and speed of objects regardless of how far away they were.

What are its advantages and limitations?

The advantages are that:

1. Echolocation is superior for navigation under extreme darkness and for detecting
and tracking small objects, such as insects.
2. In comparison with vision, echolocation happens to work better for continuous
tracking of objects because it doesn’t depend on contrast.
3. When comparing echolocation with vision, it is recognized that echolocation
provides animals with a more accurate estimation of the distance to the object.

The disadvantages are that:

1. Echolocation is susceptible to vocalization interference, which can potentially
obstruct foraging. Acoustic interference can come from various sources in the
environment such as conspecifics, running water, rustling leaves, and many
others.

2. In comparison with vision, echolocation gives bats a larger detection range when
perceiving a large object due to the slower attenuation of light in comparison to
sound.

Figure 4 illustrates a scenario for a bat using echolocation for detection at

intermediate light levels. The upper panel demonstrates how echolocation only
contributes to the short distance and doesn’t provide information for the long
distance. Inversely, the lower panel demonstrates that echolocation successfully
detects large objects and small objects.

What is its effect on ONE of the factors listed in the last few pages of this task
sheet? (Hint: Think of the Health Factor)

Negative

1. Bats produce high-frequency sounds that are called ultrasounds. These don’t
travel very far in the air which causes bats to really have to belt their echolocation
vocalizations to have enough sound range. This leads to the risk of bats
deafening themselves due to generating loud sounds right next to their own ears.
2. Echolocation might suffer from acoustic interference which can potentially
prevent foraging. This can substantially affect animals’ survival and reproduction
because of their insufficient access to food sources.
Positive

1. Echolocation is so precise in helping bats detect the smallest insects, for

instance, mother bats who are feeding their babies, are capable of catching and
eating up to 4000 insects in one night through echolocation.
2. An important advantage of echolocation is providing animals with information
about insects being their main food source, information would include their size,
shape, and distance. This means that they are less likely to suffer from
insufficient access to food which can affect their mental and physical health.
3. Another important advantage of echolocation is that they can detect predators
and potentially avoid them, which lessens their fear and insecurity leading to
lower chances of mental illnesses.