Surprising and often neglected facts about life, others that we don't think about much.
Introduction
Have you ever wondered how ants follow what seem to be invisible trails leading to food? Why male dogs mark their territory by peeing on bushes and lampposts when you take them for a walk? What birds are saying to one another when they chirp outside your window?
If so, you're in the right place! In this article, we'll take a look at these—and many other—forms of communication used in the animal kingdom.
Communication takes many forms
Communication—when we're talking about animal behavior—can be any process where information is passed from one animal to another causing a change or response in the receiving animal.
Communication most often happens between members of a species, though it can also take place between different species. For instance, your dog may bark at you to ask for a treat! Some species are very sociable, living in groups and interacting all the time; communication is essential for keeping these groups cohesive and organized. However, even animals that are relatively loners usually have to communicate at least a little, if only to find a mate.
What forms can communication behaviors take? Well, animal sensory systems vary quite a great deal. For instance, a dog's sense of smell is 40 times more acute than ours!^2
squared Because of this sensory diversity, different animals communicate using a wide range of stimuli, known collectively as signals.
squared Because of this sensory diversity, different animals communicate using a wide range of stimuli, known collectively as signals.
Pheromones
A pheromone is a secreted chemical signal used to trigger a response in another individual of the same species. Pheromones are especially common among social insects, such as ants and bees. Pheromones may attract the opposite gender, raise an alarm, mark a food trail, or trigger other, more complex behaviors.
The diagram below shows pheromone trails laid down by ants to direct others in the colony to sources of food. When a food source is rich, ants will deposit pheromone on both the outgoing and return legs of their trip, building up the trail and attracting more ants. When the food source is about to run out, the ants will stop adding pheromone on the way back, letting the trail fade out.
Ants also use pheromones to communicate their social status, or role, in the colony, and ants of different "castes" may respond differently to the same pheromone signals used. A squashed and will also release a burst of pheromones that warns nearby ants of danger—and may incite them to swarm andsting start superscript, 5, comma, 6, end superscript
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Dogs also communicate using pheromones. They sniff each other to collect this chemical information, and many of the chemicals are also released in their urine. By peeing on a bush or post, a dog leaves a mark of its identity that can be read by other passing dogs and may stake its claim to the nearby territory.
Auditory communication is particularly important in birds, who use sounds to convey warnings, attract mates, defend territories, and coordinate group behaviors.
Auditory communication—communication based on sound—is widely used in the animal kingdom.
Auditory communication is particularly important in birds, who use sounds to convey warnings, attract mates, defend territories, and coordinate group behaviors. Some birds also produce birdsong, vocalizations that are relatively long and melodic and tend to be similar among the members of a species.
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