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Auditory Dimensions of Acoustic Images in Echolocation

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Book cover Hearing by Bats

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 5))

Abstract

Echolocation in bats is one of the most demanding adaptations of hearing to be found in any animal. Transforming the information carried by sounds into perceptual images depicting the location and identity of objects rapidly enough to control the decisions and reactions of a swiftly flying bat is a prodigious task for the auditory system to accomplish. The exaggeration of aspects of auditory function to achieve spatial imaging reflects the vital role of hearing in the lives of bats — for finding prey and perceiving obstacles to flight (Neuweiler 1990). It also highlights the mechanisms behind these functions to make echolocation a useful model for studying how the auditory system processes information and creates auditory perceptions in the most extreme circumstances.

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Authors
  1. James A. Simmons
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  2. Michael J. Ferragamo
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  3. Prestor A. Saillant
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  4. Tim Haresign
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  5. Janine M. Wotton
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  6. Steven P. Dear
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  7. David N. Lee
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

  2. Parmly Hearing Institute and Department of Psychology, Loyola University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60626, USA

    Richard R. Fay

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© 1995 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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Simmons, J.A. et al. (1995). Auditory Dimensions of Acoustic Images in Echolocation. In: Popper, A.N., Fay, R.R. (eds) Hearing by Bats. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 5. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2556-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2556-0_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7577-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2556-0

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