Communication - how important is it in the natural world?

Hi everyone,

So today we're talking about communication in the natural world. As humans, we tend to think that we are superior to the rest of the organisms on this planet. We also think that we are the only ones who can communicate. While it's true that we probably have the most complexe form of communication, not one but thousands of languages, we are by far not the only ones that communicate on a daily basis.

First of all, we need to define communication. Most people only think of speaking and writing (emails, texts, letters, and so on). But communication is much more than that. The word 'communication' describes the transfer of information from one organism (sender) to another organism (receiver) or multiple organisms (receivers). Different species go about doing this in many different ways.

Animals communicate through sounds, visuals, chemicals, movements, touch, scents, electrical signals or a combination of the above. Sounds are used by many different species. Elephants will use ultrasound to communicate over long distances. Bottlenosed dolphins have maybe the most complicated combination of different sounds in the animal kingdom (aside from humans), so much so that scientists are arguing about whether they can classify it as a language. They use clicks, whistles and squeaks to convey different information. Each individual has its own signature whistle a bit like a name, which it develops when about a month old.

Visuals are also used to transfer a lot of information and is used by almost every animal that can see. In birds, colourings, markings and body shape inform the reciever about the sex, maturity and health of an individual. In most bird species, the males have more vibrant colours, while the females and juveniles are more dull and often better camoflaged. Sick or malnourished individuals are often distiguishable from healthy ones. In wolves, the posture and position of the ears often show what mood the animal is in and whether or not it is going to be aggresive.

Snails use chemicals in their trails to express their maturity and ability to mate. If a different snail comes across a snail trail it will follow the first snail and try to catch up with it. The chemicals evaporate quickly so that snails don't follow old trails where they have no chance of catching up. You would think that they often follow the trail the wrong way, but they actually go the right way about 90% of the time. Scientists speculate that they can tell from the specific markings which way the snail way travelling in.

Chimpanzees use touch to strengthen their relationships. They spend a lot of time every day grooming each other. Not only does this remove parasites and dirt from their coats, it is also important bonding time. Some compare this to how humans like to spend time with and care for their friends and families.

Scent is another importation conveyor of information. Wolves, lions, monkeys, birds and many other species use urine to mark their territory and ward off any rivals.

Many marine species use electrical signals to communicate. Normally these are so small, that we don't even notice them although some eels can kill humans with their electric shocks.

Many animals use a combination to transfer all needed information. The communication normally occurs within a single species or group of individuals, but there is communication across species. This is often the case in symboitic relationships but also the classic relationship between humans and pets. Most pet owners say that their pets tell them when they need something like food, water or just attention.

Plants also communicate. Inside a single plant there are electrical signals tranfered by chemicals between leaves, roots and flowers. Plants also communicate with pollinators through vividally coloured flowers and scents. They give off ultrasonic sounds when stressed, which are detected by mice, moths and bats. Distress signals are often given off by smell. The smell off freshly cut grass, which many humans find relaxing and positive, is actually a distress signal given off by the grass. Trees communicate through the mycorrhizal network.

Communication is a vital part of the natural world. It's used for alarm signals, finding mates, marking territory and keeping individuals connnected with the group. Without it, our world would be a very different and much less interesting place.

We hope you enjoyed this post. See you next week!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/science/animal-communication

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zd9rdnb

https://www.animalwised.com/how-do-animals-communicate-with-each-other-3384.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/plants-can-talk-yes-really-heres-how

https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/bottlenose-dolphin/communication/

Images:

Elephant: This image, owned by Mario Micklisch (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Bottlenosed dolphins: This image, owned by Scottish Government (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Snail: This image, owned by Jason Hollinger (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Chimpanzees: This image, owned by Buffa (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Wolves: This image, owned by Ralf Κλενγελ (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Forest: This image, owned by anna.chara (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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