BIOL1003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Karl Von Frisch, Waggle Dance, Odometer
Communication
Communication
The process in which a sender uses specifically designed signals to modify the
behaviour of intended receivers
Signals on average benefit the sender, otherwise they wouldn’t have evolved
Signals can be chemical, acoustic, visual etc.
Why communicate
Information about the sender
oSignals can carry information about the individual- identity, sex, quality and
reproductive state
oMany signals identify the species
oE.g. psyllids give species-specific acoustic duets
Information about the environment
oPredators
Many animals give alarm calls to warn others about predators
E.g. vervet monkeys give different types of alarm calls for different
types of predators, and others in the troop behave appropriately,
which might mean the calls act like “words” to identify predator type
or alarm calls might reflect fear and others merely copy the action of
the caller or spot the predator. However, experimental playback of
alarm calls shows that vervets do understand the meaning of the calls.
oFood
Individuals may inform others that they have found food
E.g. Detailed observations and experiments by Karl von Frisch show
that foraging honeybees communicate with other workers using
dances that encode information about the location of flowers. When
food is close, bees do a round dance. When food is further than 50m,
they do a waggle dance which encodes information about the
direction of the food compared with the direction of the sun, and
distance. Bees use a visual odometer to measure distance by
measuring optic flow. Also regurgitate small samples to indicate the
type of flower.
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Document Summary
The process in which a sender uses specifically designed signals to modify the behaviour of intended receivers. Signals on average benefit the sender, otherwise they wouldn"t have evolved. Information about the sender: signals can carry information about the individual- identity, sex, quality and reproductive state, many signals identify the species, e. g. psyllids give species-specific acoustic duets. Many animals give alarm calls to warn others about predators. However, experimental playback of alarm calls shows that vervets do understand the meaning of the calls: food. Individuals may inform others that they have found food. Detailed observations and experiments by karl von frisch show that foraging honeybees communicate with other workers using dances that encode information about the location of flowers. When food is close, bees do a round dance. When food is further than 50m, they do a waggle dance which encodes information about the direction of the food compared with the direction of the sun, and distance.
