Częstotliwość spoczynkowa (ang. resting frequency, rf) głosów echolokacyjnych podkowca małego (Rhinolophus hipposideros) z Jaskini Ciemnej

Echolocation is used by bats primarily for hunting and orientation. It has also been shown that echolocation calls may contain information about the emitting individual, such as sex. However, the existence of sex-related differences in echolocation may depend on the population. In the case of species from the Rhinolophidae family, the most commonly analysed echolocation parameter is the resting frequency (RF). The aim of the study was to test differences in RF between males and females from the population of the lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros inhabiting Ciemna Cave in Ojców National Park. Due to possible differences in the propagation of sound waves depending on the weather, possible differences between seasons were also tested. Our results confirm the existence of differences in the RF of males and females. This is one of the few studies to investigate the influence of season on the RF of horseshoe bats. Despite different weather conditions in spring and summer, no differences in RF were found between seasons.