Flight and echolocation In the ecology and evolution of bats

Flight and echolocation are key characters distinguishing most bats from other mammals. The number of ecological niches for bats is limited by the concurrent constraints of the mammalian physiology and reproductive system and the high cost of flight and echolocation. The recent discovery of a biomechanical coupling between echolocation and flight highlights the need to incorporate both characters as parts of a single adaptive complex in future research on the ecology and evolution of bats.