WUND, M. A.; University of Michigan: The Development of Plastic Echolocation in the Little Brown Bat, Myotis lucifugus

Recently, much research has focused on the evolution and development of plastic traits. Behaviors are unique traits in that they may rapidly change via learning. Thus, behavioral plasticity may develop and evolve in ways other plastic traits cannot. I am currently testing the hypothesis that learning affects the development of adaptively plastic bat echolocation. Both field and experimental data show that Myotis lucifugus, a habitat generalist bat, produces habitat-specific (i.e., plastic) echolocation calls. Do these bats require experience with different habitats in order to develop a fully plastic repertoire? If calls do change with experience, does hunting performance improve as a result? Testing hypotheses regarding the mechanisms by which plastic traits develop is critical to understanding how plasticity evolves in different types of organisms.