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Bats obey traffic rules, study shows
Bat
Bats abide by their own set of 'traffic rules': they chase each other, perform tandem turns and even slow down to avoid collision.
Bats turn, chase and avoid collisions at high speed

Bats hunting for food obey their own set of 'traffic rules', turning, chasing and avoiding collisions at high speed, according to a study by the University of Bristol.

Dr Marc Holderied from the School of Biological Sciences studied pairs of Daubenton's bats foraging low over water for stranded insects, at a site close to the village of Barrow Gurney in Somerset.

“Collective movements of flocking birds or shoaling fish are amongst the most fascinating natural phenomena, and everyone has experienced the challenges of walking through a moving crowd," said Marc. "What information individuals use for movement coordination is, however, very difficult to know – except in the case of echolocating bats.”

Because biosonar imaging in bats is much sparser in information than vision, Dr Holderied was able to accurately measure the biosonar calls of the interacting bats before calculating what each of the individuals perceived.

The results revealed that bats abide by their own set of 'traffic rules': they chase each other, perform tandem turns and even slow down to avoid collision.

The researchers discovered that bats use one simple trick to create their interactive behaviours - they swap leader-follower roles and perform chases by copying the route a nearby individual was using up to 500 milliseconds earlier -  almost as fast as the blink of a human eye.

Dr Holderied said: “The bats seem to have adopted a simple trick:  once another individual is close enough for your biosonar to pick up its echo, copy this individual’s flight direction within four to five of your own wingbeats.”

His research team believe the discovery could have wider implications, such as helping to improve the efficiency of search and rescue missions, and surveillance operations in the emerging market of flying drones and autonomous moving vehicles.

The study, ‘Delayed Response and Biosonar Perception Explain Movement Coordination in Trawling Bats’ by Luca Giuggioli, Thomas J. McKetterick and Marc Holderied, is published in PLOS Computation Biology.

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.