eFinder

eFinder

Home › Bio-inspired Technology › Article

Bats create 'silent frequency zones' to detect prey in noisy flight, researchers reveal

Phys · · 780 words · By Doshisha University
Bio-inspired Technology Biological Adaptation

Researchers from Doshisha University have discovered that greater Japanese horseshoe bats use a strategy called Doppler shift compensation to create 'silent frequency zones.' This mechanism allows bats to filter out background noise and more effectively detect the faint echoes of prey wingbeats.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-silent-frequency-zones-prey-noisy.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

verified Verified By Reference 3
info Single Source 3
check_circle Corroborated 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 2
verified
“Echolocation is the ability of animals like bats and dolphins to locate objects by emitting sound waves and interpreting the returning echoes.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple educational sources confirm that echolocation is used by bats and dolphins to locate objects via sound waves and echoes.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Method used by several animal species to determine location using sound. A depiction of the ultrasound signals emitted by a bat, and the echo from a nearby object.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_echolocation
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — How echolocation lets bats, dolphins, and even people navigate by sound.What is echolocation? Imagine an echo that locates things. The sound hits an object and bounces back, relaying information about…
https://www.popsci.com/science/what-is-echolocation/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Bat Locates the Sound: The blindfolded "bat" must try to locate the direction of the sound by turning towards it.Both use sound waves to detect objects and determine distance by interpreting echoes. S…
https://www.imthecheftoo.com/blogs/stem-for-kids/hear-the-wo…
check_circle
“a group of scientists led by Doctoral Student Soshi Yoshida, Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University... together with Professor Kohta Kobayasi and Professor Shizuko Hiryu has uncovered a unique strategy used by greater Japanese horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus nippon) to improve prey detection under noisy conditions.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Mirage News and academic PDFs, identify the research on Japanese horseshoe bats involving Soshi Yoshida, Kohta Kobayasi, and Shizuko Hiryu.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Japanese horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum nippon) emit ultrasound pulses that are characterized by a constant frequency (CF) component followed by a frequency-modulated (FM) component. These …
https://www.miragenews.com/scientists-uncover-japanese-horse…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — We investigated prey pursuit behavior of Japanese horseshoe bats, while they were tasked to make a choice between two tethered fluttering moths during flight. Echolocation pulses were recorded by a te…
https://www.academia.edu/93702901/Prey_pursuit_strategy_of_J…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shizuko Hiryu. Kohta I Kobayasi.Shizuko Hiryu. Bats detect objects by echolocation. With those echoes, they can describe the shape of objects as well as position, and then approach or avoid them.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shizuko-Hiryu
info
“The study, appearing in Communications Biology, reveals that bats do not simply process sounds passively, but actively manipulate the sounds from the surrounding environment to enhance important signals.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the researchers are identified in other sources, the specific claim about the 'Communications Biology' study and the active manipulation of sounds is not explicitly detailed in the provided search results (which mostly show generic study tools or unrelated Wikipedia entries).
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards (Spanish: Premios Fundación BBVA Fronteras del Conocimiento) are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBVA_Foundation_Frontiers_of_K…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means tha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_(biology)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Japanese wolf (Japanese: ニホンオオカミ（日本狼）, Hepburn: Nihon ōkami, or 山犬, yamainu [see below]; Canis lupus hodophilax), also known as the Honshū wolf, is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_wolf
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Horseshoe bats follow a phenomenon called Doppler shift compensation (DSC).”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and academic papers explicitly state that horseshoe bats utilize Doppler shift compensation (DSC).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Doppler-shift compensation behavior in horseshoe bats revisited: auditory feedback controls both a decrease and an increase in call frequency. Journal of Experimental Biology. 205(11): 1607–1616.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_shift_compensation
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Doppler shift compensation (DSC) behaviour in horseshoe bats is a remarkable example of sensorimotor feedback that stabilizes the echo frequency at the bat's optimum hearing range regardless of motion…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11122338/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Doppler-shift compensation (DSC) behavior of constant frequency – frequency modulation (CF-FM) bat (Hipposideros pratti) is vital for extraction and analysis of echo information.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11369750_Doppler-sh…
verified
“Doppler shift is the change in the frequency or pitch of a sound or light wave caused by the movement of the source or the observer.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple scientific explanations define the Doppler shift as the change in frequency/pitch due to relative motion between source and observer.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Frequency change of a wave for observer relative to its source. For the music project, see Dopplereffekt. "Doppler" redirects here.A common example of Doppler shift is the change of pitch heard when a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_effect
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Doppler effect (sometimes called the Doppler shift) is the change in frequency or wavelength of a wave as perceived by an observer who is moving relative to the wave's source.
https://dialedggsound.com/blog-doppler-effect-explained
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Calculate observed frequency and Doppler shift from source and observer speeds.The change in observed frequency of a wave due to relative motion between source and observer. Approaching objects produc…
https://calchammer.com/physics/doppler-effect-calculator
check_circle
“To maintain these echoes within the most sensitive range of hearing, bats continuously adjust the frequency of their outgoing echolocation calls.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources describe bats adjusting call frequencies to maintain echoes within their optimal hearing range, specifically in the context of the Doppler shift.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Individual bat species echolocate within specific frequency ranges that suit their environment and prey types. This has sometimes been used by researchers to identify bats flying in an area simply by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_echolocation
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Bats perform echolocation by sending out cries and gathering information about their surroundings based on the echoes that return back to them. The incoming direction of the echoes helps determine whe…
https://c21.phas.ubc.ca/article/bats-and-the-doppler-shift/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — While call rate and call duration define an overlap-free window, it is the energy and frequency of the emitted call together with the bat’s hearing threshold and the nature of the echo-generating obje…
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-97540-1_…
info
“the researchers performed a series of experiments using 11 wild-caught greater Japanese horseshoe bats.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions the researchers and the general nature of the experiments, but the specific number '11 wild-caught bats' is not corroborated across the provided search snippets.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 JST (05:46:24 UTC), a Mw 9.0–9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 72 km (45 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region of Japan. I…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tōhoku_earthquake_and_tsu…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — 3.11: Surviving Japan is a documentary film about the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan written and directed by volunteer and resident Christopher …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3.11:_Surviving_Japan
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. (株式会社セブン‐イレブン・ジャパン; Kabushiki gaisha Sebun Irebun Japan, often abbreviated as SEJ) is a Japanese convenience store chain headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is a subsidiar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-Eleven_Japan
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“experiments revealed that bats control their echolocation calls to keep the highest-frequency echoes at a constant reference frequency (fref).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results for this specific claim returned unrelated information about a movie called 'Greater' and dictionary definitions, providing no evidence regarding the 'fref' constant reference frequency.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Greater is a 2016 American biographical sports film directed by David Hunt and starring Christopher Severio as American football player Brandon Burlsworth, a walk-on college player who became an All-A…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_(film)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Greater: Directed by David L. Hunt. With Neal McDonough, Leslie Easterbrook, Christopher Severio, Michael Parks. The story of Brandon Burlsworth, possibly the greatest walk-on in the history of colleg…
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2950418/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of GREATER is consisting of a central city together with adjacent areas that are naturally or administratively connected with it. How to use greater in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/greater
help
“this control creates a "silent frequency zone" above fref that is free from clutter echoes.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the existence of a 'silent frequency zone'.
help
“Introducing narrow-band noise artificially into the clutter-free frequency region led to a decrease in the bat's hunting success.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the introduction of narrow-band noise and its effect on hunting success.
schedule
“noise produced outside this frequency range had minimal effects on the same.”
PENDING
schedule
“Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus nippon) suppress clutter noise through echolocation frequency control to detect prey, Communications Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-026-10217-9”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.