ANIMAL COMUNICATION

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 social, living in groups and interacting all the time; communication is
essential for keeping these groups cohesive and organized. However, even animals that are
relative 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!Because of
this sensory diversity, different animals communicate using a wide range of stimuli, known
collectively as signals.

Below are some common types of signals:

 Pheromones—chemicals
 Auditory cues—sounds
 Visual cues
 Tactile cues—touch

In some cases, signals can even be electric!

Where does this diversity of communication behaviors come from? Like other traits,
communication behaviors—and/or the capacity for learning these behaviors—arise through
natural selection. Heritable communication behaviors that increase an organism's likelihood
of surviving and reproducing will tend to persist and become common in a population or
species.
In the rest of the article, we'll look at some examples of the many ways that animals can
communicate with one another.

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 sex, 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. A squashed ant
will also release a burst of pheromones that warns nearby ants of danger—and may incite
them to swarm and sting.

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 nearby territory

Auditory signals

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.
Many non-bird species also communicate using sound:

 Monkeys cry out a warning when a predator is near, giving the other members of the
troop a chance to escape. Vervet monkeys even have different calls to indicate
different predators.
 Bullfrogs croak to attract female frogs as mates. In some frog species, the sounds can
be heard up to a mile away!
 Gibbons use calls to mark their territory, keeping potential competitors away. A
paired male and female, and even their offspring, may make the calls together.

Water, like air, can carry sound waves, and marine animals also use sound to communicate.
Dolphins, for instance, produce various noises—including whistles, chirps, and clicks—and
arrange them in complex patterns. The idea that this might represent a form of language is
intriguing but controversial

Visual signals

Visual communication involves signals that can be seen. Examples of these signals include
gestures, facial expressions, body postures, and coloration.
Gesture and posture are widely used visual signals. For instance, chimpanzees communicate a
threat by raising their arms, slapping the ground, or staring directly at another chimpanzee.
Gestures and postures are commonly used in mating rituals and may place other signals—
such as bright coloring—on display.
Facial expressions are also used to convey information in some species. For instance, what is
known as the fear grin—shown on the face of the young chimpanzee below—signals
submission. This expression is used by young chimpanzees when approaching a dominant
male in their troop to indicate they accept the male's dominance.

Changes in coloration also serve as visual signals. For instance, in some species of monkeys,
the skin around a female’s reproductive organs becomes brightly colored when the female is
in the fertile stage of her reproductive cycle. The color change signals that the female can be
approached by suitors.
An organism's general coloration—rather than a change in color—may also act as a visual
signal. For instance, the bright coloration of some toxic species, such as the poison dart frog,
acts as a do-not-eat warning signal to predators.
Tactile signals—touch

Tactile signals are more limited in range than the other types of signals, as two organisms
must be right next to each other in order to touch. Still, these signals are an important part of
the communication repertoire of many species.
Tactile signals are fairly common in insects. For instance, a honeybee forager that's found a
food source will perform an intricate series of motions called a waggle dance to indicate the
location of the food. Since this dance is done in darkness inside the nest, the other bees
interpret it largely through touch.

What is communication used for?

As the examples above illustrate, animals communicate using many different types of signals,
and they also use these signals in a wide range of contexts. Here are some of the most
common functions of communication:

 Obtaining mates. Many animals have elaborate communication behaviors

surrounding mating, which may involve attracting a mate or competing with other
potential suitors for access to mates.

Communication behaviors surrounding mating are often highly ritualized. For

instance, a male may perform an intricate dance, show off decorative features—such
as bright patches or elaborate patterns—or perform a characteristic song to attract a
female. Similarly, males may compete with each for mates other using ritualized
display behaviors, which usually involve posturing and gestural or vocal "threats"
rather than actual fighting.

 Establishing dominance or defending territory. In many species, communication

behaviors are important in establishing dominance in a social hierarchy or defending
territory.

Communication, for example, may allow disputes over status or territory to be settled
without the need for fighting. By posturing, vocalizing, or making aggressive
gestures, both participants make a relatively honest advertisement of their ability and
willingness to fight. This allows both parties to size each other up, and the weaker
may voluntarily back down.

 Coordinating group behaviors. In social species, communication is key in

coordinating the activities of the group, such as food acquisition and defense, and in
maintaining group cohesion.

Communication may be used, for example, to direct other group members to a food
source. Honeybee foragers use the waggle dance for this purpose, and ants use
pheromone trails. Pack-hunting predators, such as wolves, also communicate to
capture prey as a group.

Group members may signal to coordinate defensive behaviors. For example, this is
the case when a crushed ant incites other ants to swarm, or when a monkey gives an
alarm call upon spotting a predator.

Communication behaviors can also maintain cohesion within a group or establish

social bonds and relationships. For instance, grooming among primates fosters
cooperation and cohesion among group members.
  Caring for young. Among species that provide parental care to offspring,
communication coordinates parent and offspring behaviors to help ensure that the
offspring will survive.

Tactile signals exchanged between newborn animals and their mothers, for example,
trigger the mother to provide food and may also stimulate the formation of parent-
child bonds through hormone release.

As these examples show, communication helps organisms interact to carry out basic life
functions, such as surviving, obtaining mates, and caring for young.