A numerical evaluation of the interplay between the aerodynamics and acoustics of bat morphology.

Bats have large external ears. Being flying animals, this is rather unique as birds do not have these appendages. Evolution must have altered the morphology of the bat's pinnae to find a suitable trade-off between better hearing (needing larger ears) and agile flight (needing smaller ears). In this project, we want to investigate, by using computational techniques, how evolution has reconciled conflicting requirements in bats from different ecological backgrounds. Also, the aerodynamic effects of substructures of the bat's morphology that have only been evaluated in terms of the their acoustic role (the noseleaf and the tragus) will be investigated.

Keywords:BIOACOUSTICS

Disciplines:Applied mathematics in specific fields, Classical physics, Optical physics, Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges, Animal biology