Much of behaviour requires animals to communicate.
Animals can communicate through a variety of modes, which include chemicals, known as
pheromones, sounds and signals, even dancing.
It can be defined as a behaviour of one animal that has an effect on the current or future
behaviour of another animal.
Communication between animals can imply messages or warnings.
For example, plants send out messages via pheromones to try and attract pollinators.
Pheromones can be a hormone for communication to the same species, for example to attract
a mate or they can be a chemical secreted by one animal to cause a reaction of another;
they make communication possible.
Honey bees communicate information about food sources with a special dance, known as a ‘waggle
dance’.
A figure of eight dance tells bees which direction and how far it is to flowers and a round dance
tells them that food is close by.
Sound from the dance of the bees is picked up by the tiny hairs on the bee’s head.
So bees communicate through sound, and movement signals, as well as by releasing pheromones
into the environment.
Killer whales communicate through sound.
Sound is a very important method of communication for whales because sight is less effective
underwater.
Killer whales produce whistles, echolocation clicks, pulsed calls, low-frequency pops and
jaw claps.
Research has shown that whales produce sounds more frequently when they are closer to other
individuals, and less frequently when groups are dispersed.
It is thought that the sounds are used for group recognition and the coordination of
behaviour.
It is also interesting to note that each pod of whales has its own unique dialect.
Whales may also communicate using a variety of postures and gestures.
However, the purpose of behaviours such as breaching are not clearly understood, although
it is assumed that behaviours like jaw-snapping and head-butting communicate aggression.