Acoustic mimetismo

2007/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia
• Zoologia
• Ekologia

Researchers at Wake Forest University have shown that with acoustic mimicry the hunting of bats is avoided. Scientists suspected that some animals used acoustic mimicry, such as snakes, curves and bees, but it is the first time they show it.

Mimicry, by definition, is the identification of one species with another to prevent predators from eating. For example, there are insects that acquire the form of leaves or sticks, and therefore do not see predators. Some butterflies resemble the monarch butterfly, poisonous. Predators do not eat royal monarchs or imitators.

They have now shown that cocks behave equally to escape bats, but imitating sound. In fact, the tiger sits has a bad flavor and by high frequency sounds warns bats that it is not good edible. Well, in the experiment carried out by the researchers, different types of chickens and two species of bats have been used, and have seen that some of the chickens imitate the sound of the tiger sits, thus avoiding the consumption of bats. However, bats have no drawbacks in eating chickens of similar appearance but do not emit sound.