The mystery of how bats navigate crowded colonies without crashing into each other has long been a puzzle for scientists. For decades, researchers have tried to understand the intricacies of bat echolocation, but the solution remained elusive until recently. A team of scientists from Tel Aviv University and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) has finally cracked the code by tracking bats within a group of thousands and studying their behavior in their natural environment.

The researchers found that when bats first emerge from the roost, they increase their distance from the center of the group and adjust their echolocation to maneuver safely in areas of highest bat density. This strategy is made possible by the bats’ ability to change the frequency of their calls, emitting shorter and weaker calls at higher frequencies as they fan out from the colony core.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provides a compelling answer to the long-standing mystery of how bats solve the “cocktail party nightmare” of clashing echolocations. By collecting data from wild bats emerging from a cave at dusk and using high-resolution tracking, ultrasonic recording, and sensorimotor computer modeling, the researchers were able to step into the bats’ sensory world as they squeezed out of the cave opening and flew through the landscape to forage.

The team’s findings suggest that bats are able to reduce echolocation jamming by quickly dispersing from the cave and changing their call frequency. This strategy allows them to gain detailed information about their near neighbors, ultimately helping them to successfully maneuver and avoid collisions.

The study highlights the importance of studying animals in their natural environment as they perform relevant tasks. “Theoretical and lab studies of the past have allowed us to imagine the possibilities,” says Aya Goldshtein, a scientist from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. “But only by putting ourselves, as close as possible, into the shoes of an animal will we ever be able to understand the challenges they face and what they do to solve them.”

The research has significant implications for our understanding of bat behavior and ecology, and may also have applications in fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence, where navigation in crowded spaces is a major challenge.