Guarato Francesco, Andrews Heather, Windmill James F C, Jackson Joseph, Pierce Gareth, Gachagan Anthony
Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering, Electronic and Electrical Engineering-University of Strathclyde, 204 George Street, Glasgow G1 1XW, UK.
Bioinspir Biomim. 2015 Sep 3;10(5):056007. doi: 10.1088/1748-3190/10/5/056007.
The directional properties of bat ears as receivers is a current area of interest in ultrasound research. This paper presents a new approach to analyse the relationship between morphological features and acoustical properties of the external ear of bat species. The beam pattern of Rousettus leschenaultii's right ear is measured and compared to that of receiver structures whose design is inspired by the bat ear itself and made of appropriate geometric shapes. The regular shape of these receivers makes it possible to control the key reception parameters and thus to understand the effect on the associated beam pattern of the parameters themselves. Measurements show one receiver structure has a beam pattern very similar to that of R. leschenaultii's ear, thus explaining the function of individual parts constituting its ear. As it is applicable to all bat species, this approach can provide a useful tool to investigate acoustics in bats, and possibly other mammals.
蝙蝠耳朵作为接收器的定向特性是当前超声研究的一个热门领域。本文提出了一种新方法，用于分析蝙蝠物种外耳的形态特征与声学特性之间的关系。测量了棕果蝠右耳的波束图，并将其与受蝙蝠耳朵本身启发、由适当几何形状制成的接收器结构的波束图进行比较。这些接收器的规则形状使得控制关键接收参数成为可能，从而理解这些参数本身对相关波束图的影响。测量结果表明，一种接收器结构的波束图与棕果蝠耳朵的波束图非常相似，从而解释了构成其耳朵的各个部分的功能。由于该方法适用于所有蝙蝠物种，它可以为研究蝙蝠以及可能其他哺乳动物的声学提供一个有用的工具。
