The Handbook of acoustic bat detection

Abstract

following a standard format that elaborate on distribution, emergence time, flight and foraging behaviour, habitat types the species is likely to be encountered, echolocation call characteristics, social call characteristics, and species likely to be confused due to overlapping call characteristics. A portrait of the species, a map of their distribution and a tabular summary of their main echolocation call characteristics complement the text. Spectrogram figures of echolocation calls in different environments are provided, as well as those of social calls. Where available, even descriptions of the sounds in heterodyne detectors are given. While describing these species-specific properties, it summarises most topics but goes in depth with echolocation and social calls, and its representation in heterodyne detectors and time expansion/full spectrum recording devices. The authors do not hesitate to clearly state where the former method is insufficient for accurate species identification. In contrast to other books on the market treating the subject, the reader does not find himself lost in a multitude of scatterplots, tables and flowcharts. The text is written in a scientifically sound language, citing relevant scientific articles throughout, but is still easily understandable to laypeople. With 20 pages of literature citations and 9 index pages this book is a very valuable reference, both for beginners interested to learn about echolocation and for experts.