NDSU biological sciences professor to present seminar Friday Erin Gillam, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University, will present a seminar titled "Flexibility in Bat Echolocation: Adapting Signal Structure To Changing Conditions" at noon Friday, Feb. 27, in 105 Starcher Hall. All are welcome to attend. Dr. Gillam received her B.S.from the University of Maryland, and her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at NDSU. Aerial-feeding bats use a highly developed form of echolocation for spatial orientation and prey capture. As no single call type is optimal for all purposes, individual bats exhibit substantial plasticity in the temporal and spectral structure of calls. Dr. Gillam will discuss three studies in which she examined how bats alter their echolocation call structure in response to changing behavioral and ecological conditions. Specifically, she investigated geographic variation in call structure and responses to sources of acoustic interference that may effectively jam bat echolocation. Some of her current work focused on social structure and social call function in bats will also be discussed.