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Aerial Warfare: Have Bats and Moths Co-evolved?

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Predator–Prey Interactions: Co-evolution between Bats and Their Prey

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Animal Sciences ((BRIEFSANIMAL))

Abstract

The interaction between bats and moths has been cited as an example of co-evolution. However, this is dependent on how well the diverse behavioural responses to prey detection and predator avoidance by bats and moths, respectively, satisfy the two major characteristics of co-evolution, specificity, and reciprocity . In general, co-evolution is an interaction between two species. Therefore, an interaction between multiple species of two orders as in the case of insects and bats may be a case of diffuse co-evolution . There is much evidence that moth anti-bat defences have evolved in direct response to bats. Such evidence includes the evolutionary origin of moth audition after bat echolocation, the close association between between moth hearing sensitivity and bat echolocation frequencies, the degeneration of hearing in moths that are no longer exposed to bat predation and the production of ultrasonic clicks by moths in direct response to bat echolocation. In contrast, evidence for reciprocity and specificity in the evolution of bat traits is confounded by the fact that these traits could also have evolved as adaptation for particular habitats and tasks. However, these requirements might be met by stealth echolocation, especially where these involve evolutionary trade-offs . For example, some bats use calls of low-intensity or low-frequency, sacrificing detection distance and the ability to detect small insects, respectively, that allow them to detect the moths before the moths detect them. Presumably, the decrease in detection distanced and the detectability is offset by an increased ability to catch eared/large moths.

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  1. Animal Evolution and Systematics Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    David Steve Jacobs

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Anna Bastian

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Jacobs, D.S., Bastian, A. (2016). Aerial Warfare: Have Bats and Moths Co-evolved?. In: Predator–Prey Interactions: Co-evolution between Bats and Their Prey. SpringerBriefs in Animal Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32492-0_5

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