Air flow sensing in bats

Abstract

Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, and impress with complicated aerial maneuvers like tight turns, hovering, or perching upside-down. The bat wing membrane is covered with microscopically small hairs that are associated with a variety of tactile receptors at the follicle. The directionality profile of neuronal responses to air flow—as measured in the somatosensory cortex of the bats—indicates that the hairs respond strongest to reverse airflow, and might therefore act as stall detectors. We found that depilation of different functional regions of the wing membrane alters flight behavior in obstacle avoidance tasks by reducing aerial maneuverability, as indicated by wider turning angles and increased flight speed. We provide here for the first time electrophysiological and behavioral data showing that bat wing hairs are involved in sensorimotor flight control by providing aerodynamic feedback.