Unpredictable food sources drive some bats to cooperatively search for food

Date:  December 13, 2018

Source:  University of Maryland

Humans aren't the only species that have dinner parties. Scientists have observed many animals, including bats, eating in groups. However, little was known about whether bats actively help each other find food, a process known as social foraging.

With the help of novel miniature sensors, an international group of biologists that included University of Maryland Biology Professor Gerald Wilkinson found that bat species foraged socially if their food sources were in unpredictable locations, such as insect swarms or fish schools. In contrast, bats with food sources at fixed locations foraged on their own and did not communicate with one another while foraging or eating. The results of the study were published in the November 19, 2018 issue of the journal Current Biology.

"We were able to show that bats who can't predict where their food will be are the ones that cooperate with each other to forage," Wilkinson said. "And I don't think they are unique -- I think that if more studies are done, we will find that other bat species do similar things."

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