The vampire bat is attracted to its prey through heat sensors in its face; but how do plant-eating bats find their food? Plants, such as the marcgravia evenia plant, rely on bats to pollenate their species. Since bats use echolocation to find their food, the marcgravia evenia had to find a way to stand out from the surrounding flora, to attract bats.
Over time, the marcgravia evenia has evolved its leaves so that its leaves are attractive audibly. The concave curves of the leaves return an echo that has a louder and broader sound than the surrounding plants. This saves the bat time during its hunt, and increases the marcgravia evenia’s likelihood of being pollinated.
Interested in teaching your students more about bats? Check out SSR's Vol 41 DVD, episode: Ecology - Bats: Creatures of the Night.
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