Comparative Analysis Of The Echolocation Calls Of The Lesser Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus Hipposideros) And The Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus Euryale) In The Carpathian Basin

Although acoustic data collection is a widespread method to identify bats, it is not always adequate for precise species identification. The lesser horseshoe bat and the Mediterranean horseshoe bat have overlapping frequency intervals and the degree of this overlap has not been examined in the Carpathian Basin yet. Calls of the two species were recorded and analyzed in order to develop an acoustic identification key based on Hungarian sound database. Our results suggest that there is a considerable overlap between the frequency intervals (101.36-105.20 kHz) of both species, which questions the reliability of the previously used acoustic taxonomic keys. During our research we also examined the connections between sound parameters and the distinct traits of the individuals. We found that sex had a significant effect on the value of the mean frequency in the lesser horseshoe bat.