Mystery Solved of Bat with Big Nose

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Mystery Solved of Bat with Big Nose

Postby Cheryl Jones » Jul 13, 2009 11:31 am

Team led by Virginia Tech associate professor solves mystery of bat with an extraordinary nose
By Steven Mackay

BLACKSBURG, Va., July 9, 2009 -- A research paper co-written by a Virginia Tech faculty member explains a 60-year mystery behind a rare bat's nose that is unusually large for its species.

The findings soon will be published in the scientific trade journal, Physical Review Letters.

The article, “Acoustic effects accurately predict an extreme case of biological morphology,” details the adult Bourret’s horseshoe bat (known scientifically as the “Rhinolophus paradoxolophus” meaning paradoxical crest), and it’s roughly 9 millimeters in length nose. The typical horseshoe bat’s nose is half that amount, said Rolf Mueller, an associate professor with the Virginia Tech mechanical engineering department and director for the Bio-inspired Technology (BIT) Laboratory in Danville, Va. “This nose is so much larger than anything else,” among other bats of the region, he said. ......

.....“By predicting the width of the ultrasonic beam for each of these nose lengths with a computational method, we found that the natural nose length has a special value: All shortened noses provided less focus of the ultrasonic beam, whereas artificially elongated noses provided only negligible additional benefits,” Mueller said. “Hence, this unusual case of a biological shape can be predicted accurately from its physical function alone.”

The findings with the paradoxolophus bat are part of a larger study of approximately 120 different bat species and how they use sonar to perceive their environment. Set to finish in February 2010, it is hoped the study’s focus on wave-based sensing and communication in bats will help spur groundwork for innovations in cell phone and satellite communications, as well as naval surveillance technology. ....

Read the full story:
http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?rely ... itemno=525
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