sensory biology and animal behaviour Flashcards
What can most chemoreceptors be classified into?
Odorant receptors or pheromone receptors
What is Nepetalactone?
Catnip, was found to attract cats and cause rubbing
What is the behavioural description of the Flehmens response?
Curling the back of the lips or lifting up lips with the mouth open
What is the purpose of the Flehmens response?
Taking in pheromones through the vomeronasal organ
What is the prepathological state?
Stress response alters biological function sufficiently to place the animal at risk of developing pathologies
Why do cats have more rods?
To allow for better night vision, they have fewer cone cells in comparison to primates as they have less need for colour vision
What is the consequence on field of vision of having lateral positioned eyes?
wide monocular field of vision and narrow binocular field of vision
so less depth perception
in horses
What is the consequence of having frontal facing eyes?
Wider central binocular field of vision, more restricted monocular field of vision, needs to turn head to see the sides
cats/dogs
What is the consequence of having frontal facing eyes?
Wider central binocular field of vision, more restricted monocular field of vision, needs to turn head to see the sides
cats/dogs
What is the difference between the cells of the VNO and the olfactory cells
cells of the VNO contain dendrites made up of microvilli instead of cillia
How does stimulation of the receptors in the VNO occur?
substances dissolve in fluid and are then pushed into the VNO
What do snakes have that allows them to detect heat radiance from prey?
Pit organs
allows them to detect prey in close distance in the absence of light
How do fish recognise prey/predators in muddy water?
electrical pulses
