Question

Relate the important findings of communication between organisms

Answer 1

Production of a signal by one organism that causes another to change its behavior and beneficial to both or transfer of information between individuals is considered as communication between organisms.

There are four ways of animal communication.

1. Visual Communication:

• Using visual signals to convey information.
• Can be passive (body color) or active (courtship displays).
• Can convey lots of information (physical state, mood state, identity, mate attraction) quickly and with fairly good range, although limited by line-of-sight and light levels.
• Visual communications are most effective over the short distance.

2. Auditory Communication

• Using sound to convey information.
• Energetically costly but quick and can be very long-range.
• Can convey lots of information (individual identity, mate quality, territoriality, mood state, alarm).
• Can be ultra-high (bats) or ultra-low (elephants) frequency.

3. Chemical Communication

• Using smells of pheromones to convey information.
• The oldest kind of signal.
• Can be transmitted through water, air or direct contact.
• The relatively low cost to produce and can be long-lasting.
• Used for mate identification and attraction, spacing mechanisms (marking territory, laying trails), and alarm.

4. Touch or Tactile Communication :

• Conveying information using touch or things that can be touched.
• Extremely short-range but quick and low-cost.
• Used by many invertebrates with antennae.
• Can function as an important social activity to reaffirm social bonds, particularly in primates (social grooming).