Themed notes:
Animal communication
KS4 and 5
Animal communication
Animals communicate in a variety of ways to pass on information to each other. Messages
can be about all sorts of things e.g. territory, food, attracting a mate.
Messages can be intra-specific (to members of the same species) or inter-specific (to
members of another species). Animals that live in social groups tend to have more complex
communication than solitary species as groups have to cooperate in order to survive.
Chemical communication
Background
• Chemical communication is based on taste
and smell.
• Pheromones are a type of chemical which
causes a behavioural change or
developmental reaction in another member of
the same species.
• Chemical signals can be used for a variety of
reasons such as attracting a mate, marking
territory or as a warning.
• Chemical signals are particularly useful
because they can persist in the environment
for long periods; useful for species that have
large home ranges and use chemicals to
mark their territory.
Things to do and think
about:
• Visit the hippo house
and consider the
following questions.
• How do hippos use
chemical
communication?
• What message do you
think the hippos are
trying to get across and
who is it to?
Other species that use chemical communication
you could look out for: lions, otters, ants, rhinos
and dwarf mongoose.
Visual communication
Background
• Visual communication is
advantageous as it is one of
the fastest way to
communicate.
• Information is communicated
through colour, shape,
movement and posture.
• Visual communication is
limited in its range and can be
seen by others individuals
unintentionally.
• The use of body language is
particularly used in social
species. Complex behaviours
have been developed such as
gestures and facial
expressions.
Things to do and think about:
• Spend some time observing the chimps. Watch for facial
expressions and body language.
• Did you observe any communication between individuals?
Describe what you saw without attaching feelings to the actions.
(Although some chimp communication is easy to understand
some gestures and facial expressions don’t mean the same as
when a human does it e.g. if a chimp grins showing all its teeth
it isn’t happy; that expression is known as a fear grin.
Other species to look out for:
• When you have the opportunity look up chimp communication
wolves, meerkats, ostrich,
on the internet and see if you can find out what the chimp was
brown bears and peacocks
trying to say.
Themed notes:
Animal communication
KS4 and 5
Things to do and think about:
• Watch the lions to see if they use
tactile communication What body
parts do they use?
• Other than to clean each other, why
do you think lions lick and groom
other members of their pride?
Other species to look out for: cheetah,
Asian rhino, European lynx, ring-tailed
lemurs.
Tactile communication
Background
• Tactile communication is communicating using touch.
• It is a very direct and instant way of communicating with another individual. However it
can only be used when animals are close to each other.
• Tactile communication is highly developed in social mammals and birds but many other
species use it too.
• It is commonly used when mating and between parent and offspring.
Vibrations
Background
Things to do and think
about:
• The use of vibrations to
communicate has only recently been • Find out how and why
discovered.
elephants
communicate long
• Vibrations can be transmitted
distance using
through materials such as spider
vibrations (sound
webs, soil, water and vegetation.
waves we can’t hear).
• Vibrations can travel long distances.
Acoustic communication
Background
• Acoustic communication is the use of
sound to communicate.
• This method of communication is very
versatile and can travel quickly in water
and air.
• An advantage of this type of
communication is that it can be used over
long distances however a disadvantage is
that sounds can be heard by other
individual unintentionally.
Things to do and think
about:
• Watch and listen to the
meerkats. Why do you
think they constantly
make noises when they
are foraging?
• What do you think they
will do if they spot a
predator?
• Listen to each meerkat’s
call. Can you tell the
difference between each
individual? Do you think
the meerkats can?