detection of far off preys (Simmons and Stein, 1980; ... brasiliensis with a final frequency of 55 kHz (Simmons ... and Danny Rojas for their constant support.
REVISTA BIOLOGÍA
Vol. 19. No. 1-2, 2005
ACOUSTIC IDENTIFICATION OF Nycticeius cubanus (Gundlach, 1867) AND Eptesicus fuscus dutertreus (Gervais, 1837) (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) IN WESTERN CUBA Annia Rodríguez and Emanuel C. Mora1. Departamento de Biología Animal y Humana, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de La Habana. Cuba.
ABSTRACT Echolocation calls emitted by N. cubanus and E. fuscus dutertreus during their foraging activity in natural conditions and flying in an enclosed space were recorded and characterized. Both species, the most abundant Cuban vespertilionid bats, emit search calls of short duration (< 10 ms) and narrow bandwidth showing a single harmonic that combine a modulated frequency component and a quasiconstant frequency component. When both species fly in enclosed spaces emit echolocation calls shorter (< 5 ms) and broader in bandwidth than those emitted during the search phase of their foraging behavior. Differences in calls between the species support the possibility of an unequivocally acoustic identification of N. cubanus and E. f. dutertreus in the field. The final frequency was the most determinant parameter to the total acoustic discrimination between species. N. cubanus is characterized by calls ending at 41 kHz, whether E. f. dutertreus broadcast calls ending at 31 kHz. Key words: Cuban bats, Nycticeius cubanus, Eptesicus fuscus, echolocation, acoustic identification. RESUMEN Las llamadas de ecolocalización emitidas por Nycticeius cubanus y Eptesicus fuscus dutertreus durante su actividad de forrajeo y al volar en espacios cerrados, fueron grabadas y caracterizadas. Ambas especies, las más abundantes de los vespertiliónidos cubanos, emiten llamadas de búsqueda de corta duración (
