communication between animals

The transfer of information from one animal to another is called communication.In all social behavior, communication is important. Communication is an action by a sender that influences the behavior of a receiver. Honeybees perform a dance, to communicate to other bees in the hive about the location of a food source.Animals in a group communicate with sounds, scents, and actions. Alarm calls, chemicals, speech, courtship behavior, and aggression are forms of communication
Communication can be:
Intraspecific communication: These communication occur within species.Intraspecific communication is especially important for reproductive success.
Interspecific communication: these communication occur between species.Example of interspecific communication are warning signals.
 Chemical Communication
  Ants are sometimes seen moving single file toward a piece of food. Male dogs frequently urinate on objects and plants. Both behaviors are based on chemical communication. The ants have laid down chemical trails that others of their species can follow. The dog is letting other dogs know he has been there. In these behaviors, the animals are using chemicals called pheromones (FER uh mohnz) to communicate.A chemical that is produced by one animal to influence the behavior of another animal of the same species is called a pheromone.They are powerful chemicals needed only in small amounts. They remain in the environment so that the sender and the receiver can communicate without being in the same place at the same time.They can advertise the presence of an animal to predators, as well as to the intended receiver of the message. Males and females use pheromones to establish territories, warn of danger,and attract mates.Certain ants,mice,and snails release alarm pheromones when injured or threatened.
The chemical signals have following advantages:

1. They convey a simple message.This message can last for days and hours.
2. They are effective both on day and night.
3. They can pass around object.
4. They can be transported  over long distances.
5. They take little energy to produce.

Disadvantage:
They can not be changed quickly and they act slowly.
Sound Communication
  Male crickets rub one forewing against the other forewing. This produces chirping sounds that attract females. Each cricket species produces several calls that are different from other cricket species. These calls are used by researchers to identify different species. Male mosquitoes have hairs on their antennae that sense buzzing sounds produced by females of their same species. The tiny hairs vibrate only to the frequency emitted by a female of the same species. Vertebrates use a number of different forms of sound communication. Rabbits thump the ground, gorillas pound their chests, beavers slap the water with their flat tails, and frogs croak.
These animals spend energy to produce sounds.Sounds can be used during day and night.
They can travel around objects .Therefore,open or hidden animal can produce or receive these signals
Light Communication 
 Certain kinds of flies,marine organisms, and beetles have a special form of communication called bioluminescence. Bioluminescence,  is the ability of certain living things to give off light. This light is produced through a series of chemical reactions in the organism’s body. Probably the most familiar bioluminescent organisms in North America are fireflies. These insects are not flies, but beetles. The flash of light that is produced on the underside of the last abdominal segments is used to locate a prospective mate. Each species has its own characteristic flashing. Males fly close to the ground and emit flashes of light. Females must flash an answer at exactly the correct time to attract males.

Bioluminescence

 Uses of Bioluminescence 
Many bioluminescent animals are found deep in oceans where sunlight does not reach. The ability to produce light may serve several functions.One species of fish dangles a special luminescent organ in front of its mouth. This lures prey close enough to be caught and eaten. Deep-sea shrimp secrete clouds of a luminescent substance when disturbed. This helps them escape their predators. Patterns of luminescence on an animal’s body may serve as marks of recognition similar to the color patterns of animals that live in sunlit areas.
Symbolic language
 One of the most sophisticated and complex of all nonhuman communication systems is the symbolic language of bees. Honey bees are able to communicate the location of food resources when these sources are too distant to be located easily by individual bees. They communicate by dances, which are mainly of two forms.
 Waggle dance
 The form having the most informational richness is the waggle dance  Bees most commonly execute these dances when a forager has returned from a rich source, carrying either nectar in her stomach or pollen grains packed in basketlike spaces formed by hairs on her legs. The waggle dance is roughly in the pattern of a figure-eight made against the vertical surface on the comb inside the hive. One cycle of the dance consists of three components: (1) a circle with a diameter about three times the length of the bee, (2) a straight run while waggling the abdomen from side to side and emitting a pulsed, lowfrequency sound, and (3) another circle, turning in the opposite direction from the first. This dance is repeated many times with the circling alternating clockwise and counterclockwise. Waggle dances are performed almost always in clear weather, and the direction
Round dance
 If the food is close to the hive (less than 50 m), the forager employs a simpler dance called
the round dance. The forager simply turns a complete clockwise circle, then turns, and completes a counterclockwise circle, a performance that is repeated many times.

round dance

waggle dance

Visual communication
visual communication is important for many animals.A large amount of information can be conveyed in a short time by visual communication.

1. Most animals e.g arthropodsand most vertebrates have well developed eyes for color vision.
2. Many fishes, reptiles and birds show brilliant colour colour patterns.These patterns have a signaling function.
3. Most mammals have plain,darker colors.They are nocturnal.So they lack color vision.Their ancestors are nocturnal insectivores.
4. Primates have both color vision and colorful displays.There are bright facial markings  on a male madrill.therefore, visual signal are present in them at all time
5. The signals may be hidden or located on a less exposed part of the body.These signals are then suddenly exposed.Some lizards like green anoles can change their color through activities of pigments cells io the skin.

Disadvantages
Visual signals have some disadvantage:

1. sometimes various objects in the environment block the line of sight.Therefore, it is difficult to see these signals from a long distance.
2.  Similarly, the signals are not effective at night.These signals can be detected by predators.

Tactile communication

touch communication

The communication between animals by the physicals contact are called tactile communications.There examples are antennae of many invertebrates and the touch receptors in the skin of vertebrates.They function on the tactile communication.The birds preen the feathers of other birds.The primates groom each other.

Electricl communication

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