One of the directions for future research that I highlighted in my recent chapter on bat research in SE Asia was understanding how the edge/gap and open space insectivorous bats respond to habitat loss and land-use change. Because bats in these ensembles can be hard to catch but emit relatively high-intensity echolocation calls, acoustic surveys and monitoring will underpin this research. As full-spectrum bat detectors with on-board processing and recording capabilities drop in price, this becomes ever more feasible. However, the limiting factor remains the availability of reference calls against which to compare field recordings. Meanwhile, recording the resting frequency of members of the Hipposideridae and Rhinolophidae adds to our knowledge of species distributions, species boundaries and the role of echolocation in speciation. Sophany, Sarith and Neil are to be congratulated on on their recent publication describing echolocation calls of 17 bats species in Cambodia and assessing the potential to discriminate among species based on the call parameters. Don’t let calls sit storage — describe, publish and share!
Phauk, S., Phen, S., Furey, N. M (2013). Cambodian bat echolocation: a first description of assemblage call parameters and assessment of utility for species identification. Cambodian Journal of Natural History 2013 (1) 16-26.
Attached -Phauk_et_ al_ (2013)
