School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel.
BMC Biol. 2023 Mar 28;21(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s12915-023-01557-7.
Reproduction entails substantial demands throughout its distinct stages. The mammalian gestation period imposes various energetic costs and movement deficits, but its effects on the sensory system are poorly understood. Bats rely heavily on active sensing, using echolocation to forage in complete darkness, or when lighting is uncertain. We examined the effects of pregnancy on bat echolocation.
We show that pregnant Kuhl's pipistrelles (Pipistrellus kuhlii) altered their echolocation and flight behavior. Specifically, pregnant bats emitted longer echolocation signals at an ~ 15% lower rate, while flying more slowly and at a lower altitude compared to post-lactating females. A sensorimotor foraging model suggests that these changes could lead to an ~ 15% reduction in hunting performance during pregnancy.
Sensory deficits related to pregnancy could impair foraging in echolocating bats. Our study demonstrates an additional cost of reproduction of possible relevance to other sensory modalities and organisms.
繁殖在其不同阶段都需要大量的能量。哺乳动物的妊娠期会带来各种能量消耗和运动缺陷，但人们对其感官系统的影响知之甚少。蝙蝠主要依靠主动感知，利用回声定位在完全黑暗或光线不确定的情况下觅食。我们研究了妊娠对蝙蝠回声定位的影响。
我们发现，怀孕的库氏管鼻蝠（Pipistrellus kuhlii）改变了它们的回声定位和飞行行为。具体来说，与产后的雌性蝙蝠相比，怀孕的蝙蝠发出的回声定位信号更长，频率降低约 15%，而飞行速度更慢，飞行高度更低。一个感觉运动觅食模型表明，这些变化可能导致妊娠期间的狩猎表现降低约 15%。
与妊娠相关的感觉缺陷可能会损害回声定位蝙蝠的觅食能力。我们的研究表明，繁殖的另一个代价可能与其他感觉模式和生物有关。
