Dr. Karry Kazial

Echolocation (sonar) calls are known to function in prey capture and navigation for bat species; however, they have not been commonly regarded as communication signals. Sonar calls have been shown to have variation linked to the age, sex, family, and individual identity of the bat that produced the calls. For my graduate work I described similar variation in the sonar calls of big brown bats. In addition, I discovered female big brown bats respond differentially to the sonar calls of males and females. At Fredonia, my students and I have included geographic variation in our investigation of sonar call variation in little brown bats and demonstrated individual recognition of conspecifics using sonar calls through habituation experiments. These findings suggest that echolocation calls, which have presumably been shaped by natural selection for prey capture, have also been co-opted for use in communication.

Students and I have worked on conservation-related research with bats including an investigation of insect availability and bat diet, environmental and bat house characteristics affecting the use of bat houses, the effect of artificial night lighting on bat activity, grooming behavior and ectoparasites, and habitat use by bats through acoustic monitoring of sonar calls. A newer research direction in my lab involves the interaction between bats and insects. Specifically, students and I have been investigating insect response to bat sonar while in the context of mate attraction.

Teaching Interests

BIOL 131 Introduction to Ecology and Evolution
BIOL 243/244 Organismal Biology & Lab
BIOL 434/534 Animal Behavior
BIOL 473/573 Animal Communication
BIOL 511 Graduate Research Methods
BIOL 590 Graduate Seminar

Research Interests

Animal Behavior, Animal Communication, Wildlife Conservation