Behavioral Ecology and Ethology ❮ 217an unrelated companion in a fight, or perhaps a wolf will offer food to another wolf that
shares no relation. Animals rarely display this behavior since it is limited to species with
stable social groups that allow for exchanges of this nature. The bats described earlier
represent a good example of reciprocal altruism.- Territoriality.Territorial individuals defend a physical geographic area against other
individuals. This area is defended because of the benefits derived from it, which may
include available mates, food resources, and high-quality breeding sites. An individual
may defend a territory using scent marking, vocalizations that warn other individuals to
stay away, or actual physical force against intruders. Animal species vary in their degree
of territoriality (in fact, some species are notterritorial), and both males and females may
exhibit territorial behavior.
Animal Communication
Animals communicate in many ways. Communication need not always be vocal, and we
will discuss the various communication mechanisms in this next section: visual, auditory,
chemical, and tactile.
Chemical communication.Mammals and insects use chemical signals called pheromones,
which in many species play a pivotal role in the mating game. Pheromones can be powerful
enough to attract mates from miles away.
Visual communication.We mentioned a few visual communication examples earlier, such
as agonistic displays. Another example of a visual display is a male peacock’s feather splay,
which announces his willingness to mate.
Auditory communication.This mode of communication involves the use of sound in the
conveying of a message. In many parts of the United States, if one sits on one’s porch on a
summer night, one hears the song of night frogs and crickets. These noises are often made
in an effort to attract mates.
Tactile communication.This mode of communication involves touch in the conveying of a
message and is often used as a greeting (handshake in humans). A major form of primate
tactile communication involves grooming behavior.
Bees provide an example of communication that involves chemical, tactile, and auditory
components. The beehive is a dark and crowded place, and when a worker bee returns after
having found a good food source, how in the world is it going to get the attention of all of
the co-workers? Unfortunately, intercom systems in hives are yet to be developed. What
these bees do instead is a little dance; a dance in a tight circle accompanied by a certain wag
signifies to the co-workers “Hey guys...food source is rightdown the street.” But if the
food is farther away, the bee changes the dance to one that provides directional clues as well.
The bee will instead perform a different combination of funky moves. This dance provides
distance and directional information to the other workers and helps them find the faraway
source. The ever so pleasant chemical component to this process is the regurgitation of the
food source to show the other bees what kind of food they are chasing. Imagine if humans
did that... “Dude, I just found the greatest burger place like two miles from here...
(burp) here... try this burger...it’s delightful!”KEY IDEABIG IDEA 3.D.1
Communication
can involve signals
from other organ-
isms or the
environment.
BIG IDEA 3.E.1
Individuals can act
on information and
communicate it to
others.
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