BIOL1003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Waggle Dance, Round Dance, Odometer
Communication
• Useful information from one animal to another
• Young calling out its hungry —> parent receives message and finds food
• Sender —> signal —> receiver
◦ Sender uses signals that have evolved to modify the behavior of another in a
way that benefits the sender
◦ Receiver responds because it gains useful information from the signal
◦ —> On average both benefit (evolution)
◦ Signals can target any senses (hearing, sight, smell, touch etc.)
Why do animals communicate?
1. Information about the sender
• E.g. Peacock’s spots signal good genes
• Sending information about what species an individual belongs to
Example: Psyllid
• Male ‘sings’ by vibrating the stem
◦ Tall loud song
• Female responds species- specific song to form duet
◦ Softer sound immediately afterwards
1. Information about the environment
• Alarm calls warning of predators
Example: Vervet monkey
• Live in groups
• Vulnerable to a variety of predators e.g. leopards, eagles, snakes
• Often sentinel, who gives alarm calls to warn others
• Different alarms calls to different predators
◦ Snake- chutters —> stand on tip toe and look down
◦ Eagle- grunt —> look up and run
◦ Leopard- tonal calls —> run to trees
• Another interpretation…
◦ Calls just reflect gear (e.g. eagle more dangers than snake)
◦ Others copy actions of caller, follow gaze, or see predators themselves
Experiment: play sound and observe reaction (no caller, no predator)
Response to playback data is aligned with hypothesis: vervets do have simple ‘words’
Example: honeybee on foraging trip
• 10-40000 bees in a hive
• 25kg of pollen (each year)
• 35kg nectar
• 4 million foraging trips
• 16 million kms
• After a bee arrived at a flower her sisters soon turned up
◦ Honey bee dances in hive attended closely by her sisters to communicate
location of food
Round dance- for food near by, taste nectar, smell scent of flower
Waggle dance
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Communication: useful information from one animal to another, young calling out its hungry > parent receives message and finds food, sender > signal > receiver. Sender uses signals that have evolved to modify the behavior of another in a way that benefits the sender. Receiver responds because it gains useful information from the signal. Signals can target any senses (hearing, sight, smell, touch etc. ) Why do animals communicate: information about the sender, e. g. Peacock"s spots signal good genes: sending information about what species an individual belongs to. Example: psyllid: male sings" by vibrating the stem, female responds species- specific song to form duet, information about the environment, alarm calls warning of predators. Example: vervet monkey: live in groups, vulnerable to a variety of predators e. g. leopards, eagles, snakes, often sentinel, who gives alarm calls to warn others, different alarms calls to different predators, another interpretation . Experiment: play sound and observe reaction (no caller, no predator)
