Effect of local spatial cues in small-scale orientation of flower bats

It is crucial for nectar-feeding animals to re-locate profitable flowers. However, neither flower shape nor colour signal the nectar content of a single flower. Such information can emerge only by an animal remembering experienced foraging profitability. Furthermore, this requires the ability to spatially discriminate between individual flowers of similar appearance, which appears to be demanding especially when multiple flowers of the same species are aggregated. In a study of the foraging behaviour of nectar-feeding bats, Glossophaga soricina, we investigated the effect of local echo acoustic cues that were spatially separated by at least 40 cm from the goal in a multiple goal-finding task. Increasing density of local spatial cues improved accuracy in re-locating rewarding feeders by helping bats identify profitable flowers on a small scale.