Name: animal communication signals
Uploaded: 2019-03-11T09:21:38.000Z
Duration: 1 min 3 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

Virginia  Standards of Learning

HIgh School

Life Science

LS.7

LS.7.b

Communication

Communication is the process of transmitting and receiving signals, various stimuli that are exchanged between organisms.

For example, coyotes communicate using all four modes, auditory, chemical, visual, and tactile.

They often vocalize to identify themselves and reunite with family members, or even to mark their territories, which can also be delineated through chemical means. For instance, by urinating around their home range boundaries. When approached by an outsider, the dominant coyote will display visual signs such as raising its tail and fur and showing its teeth.

While the subordinate one tucks his tail and may even roll over on the ground to allow for a tactile acknowledgement.

Such behavioral adaptations in the animal&#39;s environment infers survival and growth, outcomes that are crucial for sustaining lifestyles.

communication

Communication between two animals occurs when one animal transmits an information signal that causes a change in the animal that receives the information. Organisms communicate with one another in a host of different ways. Signals can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a combination of these. Communication is a critical behavioral adaptation that promotes survival, growth, and reproduction.

<h4>Types of Communication</h4>

A common form of communication is visual. Visual communication can be used to attract a mate, like the elaborate dances of the bird-of-paradise, or issue a warning, like the bared teeth of a wolf or the bright aposematic coloration of a banded sea krait (a venomous snake). The waggle-dance of the bee is another crucial visual communication that informs other members of the hive about the location of resources.

Animals also frequently use chemical signals to send messages. For example, canids, like the coyote, will often scent-mark to establish dominance or attract a mate.

Auditory communication is also common, including vocalizations like howls, songs, or chirps. Crickets, for example, use species-specific acoustic signals (typically a series of chirps) to communicate with conspecifics. Elephants use infrasounds, very low frequency sounds below the range of human hearing, to communicate.

The Madagascar hissing cockroach is one of many insect species that use tactile communication. In particular, they employ a technique called antennation&mdash;literally the touching of antennae to a prospective partner, in this case. Many other animals also use tactile gestures, including humans.

Communication between two animals occurs when one animal transmits an information signal that causes a change in the animal that receives the information. ...

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KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

animal communication signals

Animal communication happens when one animal sends a signal that changes the behavior of another animal. These signals help organisms survive, grow, and reproduce. They can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a mix of these forms.

Visual communication is common in many animals. It can help attract a mate, as seen in the elaborate dances of the bird-of-paradise. It can also warn others, like the bared teeth of a wolf or the bright aposematic coloration of a banded sea krait, which is a venomous snake.

Bees also use visual communication in a waggle dance. This dance tells other members of the hive where food or other resources are located. Chemical signals are another important way animals send messages. Canids, such as the coyote, often scent-mark to establish dominance or attract a mate.

Auditory communication includes sounds such as howls, songs, and chirps. Crickets use species-specific acoustic signals, usually a series of chirps, to communicate with other crickets. Elephants use infrasounds, which are very low-frequency sounds below the range of human hearing.

Some animals use tactile communication, which means touch. The Madagascar hissing cockroach uses a behavior called antennation, where antennae touch a potential partner. Many other animals also use tactile gestures, including humans.

Animal Communication Signals

types of behavior

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Animal behavior is the set of actions an organism performs. These actions can help it find food, reproduce, defend against threats, and carry out many other tasks. Behavior can also include movement in the environment, such as migration, and social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output. Motor output means muscle movement. Other behaviors are less visible. Learning is one example of a behavior that does not always show up as an obvious physical action.<br...

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A fixed action pattern is a hard-wired behavior sequence that starts when an animal detects a sign stimulus. The behavior is fixed because it stays the same across individuals of a species. It is innate, so the animal is born with the ability to do it and does not need to learn it. Nikolaas Tinbergen described a classic fixed action pattern in three-spined stickleback fish in the 1930s. During breeding season, male sticklebacks develop a red throat and belly and build a nest. They use a...

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Imprinting is a form of early animal bonding seen in some newborn animals. It happens after brief exposure soon after birth or hatching. During this time, young animals form a strong and specific attachment to another animal, usually a parent. This early window is called the critical period. Once imprinting happens, the bond is usually long-lasting. In many cases, the young animal will keep that attachment even after the critical period ends. Imprinting helps animals survive. Mother sheep can...

Animal communication happens when one animal sends a signal that changes the behavior of another animal. These signals help organisms survive, grow, and reproduce. They can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a mix of these forms. Visual communication is common in many animals. It can help attract a mate, as seen in the elaborate dances of the bird-of-paradise. It can also warn others, like the bared teeth of a wolf or the bright aposematic coloration of a banded sea krait, which is a...

migration

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parental care

How Animals Care for Their Young

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altruism

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inclusive fitness

How Kin Selection Spreads Helpful Traits

Inclusive fitness explains why animals may help relatives even at a personal cost. It describes how an individual can pass on genes through its own offspring and through the offspring of close relatives that share those genes. When help increases a relative’s reproductive success, the helper’s inclusive fitness can also rise. A clear example appears in eusocial animals such as bees and naked mole rats. These species live in colonies with one reproductively capable female, called the queen. The...

key terms and concepts

Explore how animals communicate through visual, chemical, auditory, and tactile signals. Learn examples like bee waggle dances, cricket chirps, and antennation.

Animal Communication Signals | JoVE K12

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Animal Communication Signals

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