Communication: Signals and functions

Question 1

what is communication?

Answer 1

Classically defined as occurring when “…the action of or cue given by one organism [the sender] is perceived by and thus alters the probability pattern of behavior in another organism [the receiver] in a fashion adaptive to either one both of the participants”

Question 2

What is a manipulative signal?

(give an example)

Answer 2

Things apear as one way but it is another way. Eg. The firefly that mimics the flash signals of other females to a smaller male, when the male investigates, it is vorociously consumed.

Question 3

What is eavesdropping?

(Give an example)

Answer 3

When the message was recieved by another and acted upon by the reciever that is was not intended for.
Example: Male frogs send out an advertisement call to attract females but bats also recieve this call and respond to it by locating the frog and preying on them.

Question 4

What is true communication?

(give an example?)

Answer 4

This is it is what is appears to be.
During the mating season, Greater Sage grouse males produce strutting displays that are energetically expensive, and females use this honest information about male quality to choose which individuals to mate with

Question 5

How many signal modalities are there in communication?

(Name them.)

Answer 5

There are 5 :
1. Visual
2. acoustic
3. Chemical
4. Tactile
5. Electrical

Question 6

what are 2 types of signal modality; visual?

(give examples)

Answer 6

• Permanent
• Appropriate conditions

Question 7

Give an example of signal modality, visual, under appropriate conditions.

Answer 7

Male green anole that boobs its head and produces a dewlap which is brightly colored and extended out from its throat. It signials territorical defense.

Question 8

An example of Permanent advistement in signal modalities visual.

Answer 8

Bright red epaculets on male blacbirds. It is important in defense for territory. Higher encounter with males once the red epaculets are displayed.

Question 9

An example of an acustic signal modality in air.

Answer 9

Seen in passerine birds in which they signal pure tone that allows them to be hard to find, broad band mate sounds however, make it easier for them to be found.

Bats- echolocation to find prey.

Question 10

An example of acoustic signal modalities in water.

Answer 10

Whales send a high freuqnecy signal that is reflected back which allows them to locate their preys location.

Question 11

What are the properties of chemical modality.

(how it travels, why it travels that way, distance, fade?)

Answer 11

• Travel over long distances but slowly due to the process of diffusion from point source to production site.
• The chemical signal slowly fases away.
  *

Question 12

Give an example for chemical signal modality.

Answer 12

This is seen in moths and also elephants.
In months, the females relsea chemical cues in which the males follow to locate the females.

In elephants they have vormeronasal organs that allow them to detect wheather the females are sexually receptive through their urine.

Question 13

What is the name of the organ Asian elephants used to detect wheather females are sexually receptive from their unrine?

Answer 13

Vomeronasal Organ.

Question 14

Male silkmoths are more attracted to chemical signals than visual signals of female silkmoths

(True or false?)

Answer 14

True

(Chemical- pheromones).

Question 15

In what animals are tactile signal modalities important in?

(And why is it important? what for?)

Answer 15

In social animals to maintain and build relationships

Question 16

Give an example of tactile signal modalities.

Answer 16

Tactile modality is seen in chipanzees as they regularly grrom other individuals to be rewarded with greater levels of coorperation and food sharing.

Question 17

Females are generally choosy during mate selection because of their greater reproductive investment.

(True or False)

Answer 17

True

Question 18

When males are looking for mates the cost of engaging in physical combat is very low.

(true or false)

Answer 18

False. Because we should assume it is mating sesssion and so in mating session competition is generally high. So physical combat engagement will also be very high or likely.

Question 19

Signal modalities: Electric. Give an example.

Answer 19

Foraging sharks practice eavesdroping as they have the ability to detect electrical signals using specialized electroreceptors cells located in their head. This allows them to eavesdrop on weaker electrical gields of prey.

Question 20

What species of fish send out specific-specific electrical pulses?

Answer 20

Mormyrid fish

Question 21

Why do the mormyrid fish send on specific- specific electrical pulses?

(2 reasons)

Answer 21

1. To locate their prey.
2. To find conspecifics who are ready to mate.

Question 22

Signal function: Sexual advertisement & Mate attraction. Give examples.

Answer 22

1. This is seen in bowerbirds as they build a bower decorated with brightly coloredd objects to secure a mate. (this is the use of visual modalities).
2. Deep snouted pipefish females produce a stripe pattern during the mating period. This is seen as more attractive to males than females who do not do this.

Question 23

In signal functions: Conflict resolution. How is the conflict resolved?

(hint:Natural selection)

Answer 23

• Natural selection favors evolution of communication systems that allows them to assess the combat ability of their opponenet so that they do not have to get involved in combat.

Question 24

Signal function: Relocate & accurately offspring. In what type of animals is this function appropriate?

Answer 24

• Animals are colonial.
• Produce altrical offsprings.
• Leave their offspring in a refugia, nest.
• Leave them to forage and gather resources.
• Upon returning to their nest they need to have the ability to distinguish or identify their own offspring.

Question 25

Give an example of the relocate & accurate offspring signal function.

Answer 25

Brazilian free-tailed Bat.
Female brazilian free-tailed bats are from a cave colony that have millions of bats.
When they leave at night to forage they put their pup in a creche containing thousands of other young.

Question 26

How do brazilian free-tailed bats locate their young?

Answer 26

• Their young have individually distinct “isolation calls” that they can detect from great distance.
• When the parent bat appraoches the scene, they then detect which pup is theirs by smell/scent.

Question 27

Signal function: Group cohesion. What type if animals use these?

Answer 27

1. Those that rely on a communicating system to convey.
2. Communication system is also necessary for coordinating group movement.
3. Also in group-living species that form domiance hierarchies.

Question 28

Give examples of a group cohesion signal function.

Answer 28

• Chimpanzees use this function to indicate when there is a predatory nearby. For aerial species, they emitt a “cough” call to indicate to the rest of the species of this predators and so they respond by hinding amoungst vegetation. (this is not appropriate for terrestrial predators).
• In chimpanzees their is a domainance and subordinate hiaercy. so subordinate individuals will display such signals as “Pantgrunt” vocalization and crouching. The dominant Chimpanzees show reconeiliatory signals that is indictive of low agreesion.
• This is also seen in birds, where they use contact calls that inform individuals about the location of the group. That are not in visual range used by a wide variety of birds and animals.

Question 29

How and why do fireflies sometimes eat eachother?