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The social calls of Kuhl's pipistrelles Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1819): structure and variation (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2001

Danilo Russo
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, U.K.
Gareth Jones
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, U.K.
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the structure of social calls produced by Kuhl's pipistrelles Pipistrellus kuhlii. Bats foraging around street lamps in the Campania region, Southern Italy, were recorded. Calls were produced by bats during chases and, similarly to those of Pipistrellus pipistrellus, were probably used to repel conspecifics from hunting sites. Calls often had three components, lasted on average 34 ms and contained most energy at about 17 kHz. A positive correlation was found between the frequencies of maximum amplitude of echolocation and social calls. Social calls from two adjacent populations differed in their peak frequencies, and possible hypotheses for this variation are given. The structure of P. kuhlii social calls was compared with those of the 45 and 55 kHz P. pipistrellus phonic types. Kuhl's pipistrelle calls lasted longer and showed lower values of minimum and peak frequencies. These differences can help to discriminate between field recordings of P. kuhlii and P. pipistrellus where the two species occur sympatrically.

Type
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Copyright
© 1999 The Zoological Society of London

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