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