ZO 410 Exam 3

What is communication and examples?

Communication is the transfer of information where one individual provides a signal that another individual can receive, understand, and act upon, thereby influencing the receiver's behavior. Examples include visual postures in geese, vocal calls in loons and dolphins, scent marking in lynx, and physical contact during crocodile courtship.

What are things we aren't talking about when it comes to communication?

In animal behavior, communication does not refer to performance tricks (like Clever Hans communicating with humans) or staged/humorous videos (such as viral dentist videos). It strictly focuses on adaptive social information-sharing behaviors.

What is visual communication and examples?

Visual communication relies on signals sent through sight. It is fast, precise, and fades quickly, which helps animals avoid attracting predators. Examples include badges (fixed color traits) and displays (dynamic postures), such as geese using body postures to signal alarm, aggression, or fear.

What are disadvantages of visual communication?

Visual signals are easily blocked by physical obstacles (e.g., mountains, fog, darkness) and rapidly weaken over long distances.

What are the different types of visual communication and examples?

• Badges: Fixed physical traits, such as bright color patches.

• Displays: Dynamic behaviors or movement patterns.

• Example: Postures in geese studied by Niko Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz.

What are behaviors in visual communication?

Dynamic body postures, display movements, or badges that visually convey specific states like aggression, fear, or courtship readiness.

What do animals need in order to use auditory communication and examples?

Animals require specialized organs to produce sound (e.g., vocal cords or modified feathers) and specialized organs to detect sound (e.g., ears or acoustic receptors). Examples include loons vocalizing and flapping wings, dolphins using clicks, coyotes using yips/barks, ground squirrels giving alarm calls, kangaroos/rabbits thumping feet, pigeons using specialized flight feathers for alarm sounds, and lyrebirds imitating vocal and man-made sounds.

What is auditory communication and examples?

Auditory communication uses sound waves transmitted through air or water. It works well over long distances and in aquatic environments, is fast, does not linger, and functions in darkness or poor visibility. Examples include loon territory calls, dolphin clicks, coyote yips, rabbit foot-thumping, pigeon flight wing sounds, and lyrebird vocal mimicry

What is interesting about bats and how does it relate to communication?

In noisy urban environments where background noise disrupts standard auditory cues, bats can dynamically shift their communication channel from passive auditory listening to active echolocation

What is chemical communication and examples?

Chemical communication involves transmitting information through smell and taste via molecules like pheromones or odor prints^[9][12]. Examples include lynx marking territory using claws and claw-base scent glands^[4], and mule deer sniffing scent glands on each other's hooves and mouths to identify individuals and mark territories^[4].

What are advantages and disadvantages of chemical communication?

• Advantages: Effective over long distances, persists in the environment for extended periods without requiring the sender's presence, and functions in darkness^[12].

• Disadvantages: It is difficult to pinpoint the sender's current location, as the chemical mark could have been left hours or days prior^[12]

What is tactile/touch communication and examples?

Tactile communication involves direct physical contact over short distances^[5]. It provides rapid transmission where the locations of both sender and receiver are precisely known^[5]. Examples include female American crocodiles raising their heads, exposing their necks, and rubbing against a male's head/neck to signal non-aggression and mating intent^[5][6]; primate grooming and horse nuzzling^[6]; human handshaking, hugging, and holding hands^[6][13]; and a dog grabbing and pulling a deaf companion dog^[13].

What are pheromones and examples?

Pheromones are chemicals produced by one individual and released into the external environment (air or water) to communicate with another individual (typically of the same species), altering that receiver's behavior or physiology^[14][15]. Examples include sex attractants (e.g., dimethyl disulfide in hamsters), alarm signals, trail-marking chemicals in fire ants, and queen bee ovary-suppressing signals

What are hormones?

Hormones are internal chemical messengers produced in one part of an individual's body that travel internally to communicate with other cells within the same individual^[14][15].

What is the difference between hormones & pheromones?

A hormone acts internally within the same individual's body^[14][15]. A pheromone is released externally into the environment to communicate with a different individual^[14][15].

What are the two types of pheromones?

• Signaling Pheromones^[15][16].

• Priming Pheromones

What are signaling pheromones and examples?

Signaling pheromones are small, volatile, short-lived airborne molecules that act very fast to trigger an immediate behavioral or motor response^[16][17]. Examples include sex attractants (danadone in queen butterflies, dimethyl disulfide in hamsters), alarm signals, trail-marking chemicals in fire ants, and turn-off pheromones in red-sided garter snakes

What are priming pheromones and examples?

Priming pheromones are larger, less volatile molecules that often require direct contact or ingestion (via nose or mouth) and induce slower, long-term physiological or developmental changes^[17][23]. Examples include queen bee pheromones suppressing worker ovarian function^[18][24], dominant female mice suppressing ovarian function and delaying puberty in young females under high population density^[25][26], and menstrual/estrous synchrony (Whitten/McClintock effect)

What are odor prints [signature mixtures] and how do they relate to pheromones?

An odor print (or signature mixture) is a unique chemical profile produced by an individual, analogous to a fingerprint^[23][29]. It is separate from general species-wide pheromones^[23][29]. Many phenomena previously attributed strictly to pheromones are now recognized as being driven by individual odor prints

What are invertebrate pheromone examples and how do they relate?

Examples include queen butterflies (danadone signaling/predator deterrence)^[21][29], queen honeybees (priming pheromones suppressing worker reproduction)^[18], termites (using signature mixtures)^[19][24], and fire ants (signaling trail pheromones)

What are bee pheromones and how do they relate?

The queen bee secretes a chemical that acts primarily as a priming pheromone by suppressing the ovarian function of female worker bees^[18][24]. If queen pheromone levels drop, worker health declines and workers construct queen cells, feeding larvae royal jelly to raise a new queen^[18]

What is interesting about termites and how does it relate?

Researchers previously thought termites were responding to ant pheromones, but modern evidence suggests they primarily process signature mixtures (individual odor prints) rather than traditional pheromones

What are fire ant examples and how do they relate to pheromones?

Fire ants lay short-lived signaling pheromones along trails of live prey^[19]. Workers respond immediately to follow the chemical path, which can sometimes result in unending circular trail loops where ants continuously follow one another

What are red-sided garter snakes examples and how do they relate?

Red-sided garter snakes use exuding attractant pheromones, turn-off pheromones, and female mimicry ("she-males") during spring mating behavior

What are mating balls?

Dense writhing clusters formed in the spring when red-sided garter snakes emerge from winter dens and dozens of males swarm over a single female to attempt mating^[22][31].

What are turn-off pheromones?

Pheromones released by a male garter snake after successfully mating with a female (along with a copulatory genital plug) to signal to other males that the female is no longer available^[22].

What are she-males?

Male garter snakes that produce the female attractant pheromone^[32]. This attracts other males to climb over them, warming the "she-male" up rapidly so he can emerge with more energy to pursue real females^[32][33]

What are sheep examples and how do they relate?

Mother-infant recognition in sheep relies on mother-infant attractant signals, individual signature mixtures, and MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) immune recognition for maternal bonding

What is the mice example and how does it relate?

Field research on mouse populations living in highway cloverleaf interchanges in Cary, NC showed that under high population density, dominant adult females release priming pheromones that suppress ovarian development and delay puberty in younger females to regulate population growth^[25][26]. Additionally, female mice prefer males with different MHC genes to avoid inbreeding, but pregnant mice flip their preference to MHC-similar males

What is MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) and what is common?

MHC refers to immune system cell surface proteins that create a unique genetic chemical profile^[34][35]. Animals can "smell a gene" through MHC cues^[35]. Non-pregnant females prefer mates with different MHC profiles to prevent inbreeding and produce immune-diverse offspring^[35]. However, pregnant females (and women taking birth control pills) flip their preference to select MHC-similar individuals^[37][38]

What is the hamster example and how does it relate?

Hamsters release dimethyl disulfide, a potent signaling sex attractant pheromone^[20][38]. Spraying synthetic dimethyl disulfide into the environment causes male hamsters to flock to the area immediately even when no female is present^[20][38].

What is the VNO and where is it located?

The Vomeronasal Organ (VNO) is a cigar-shaped chemical receptor organ located in the upper cleft above the mouth/upper palate, situated below the main olfactory system^[20][39]. It sends signals directly to brain olfactory processing centers to handle priming pheromones

Can the VNO be stimulated by other chemicals and examples?

Yes, the VNO is not restricted to pheromones^[39][40]. For example, in snakes, the VNO is known as Jacobson's organ and is used to detect non-pheromonal chemical scent trails from prey

What are the mice examples and snakes and how do they relate?

Snakes use their VNO (Jacobson's organ) to track prey chemicals^[40]. In mice, the VNO processes priming pheromones that regulate population density and reproductive physiological changes^[25]

How do you get chemicals to the brain faster through the VNO?

Animals perform the flehmen response (a grimace/head-raise maneuver) to rapidly draw environmental chemicals into the VNO and up to the brain

What is the flehmen response?

A behavior where an animal (like a horse or sheep) raises its head, curls back its lips, and exposes its gums to transfer airborne chemicals quickly to the VNO and brain^[41][42]. It often causes a mild burning sensation, leading the animal to shake its head^[42]

What is thought about pheromones in humans? What does the VNO do during development?

In humans, apes, bats, and cetaceans, the VNO and its neural connections to the brain degrade during embryonic development, so adult humans do not have a functioning VNO^[43][44]

What is mother-infant recognition and how does it relate?

Human mothers can identify their newborn babies blindfolded purely by scent through chemical imprinting established during early bonding weeks

Can there be other ways to respond to pheromones without a VNO?

Yes, animals and humans can perceive and respond to chemical signals and priming/signaling cues through main olfactory pathways without requiring a functioning VNO

What is menstrual synchrony and how does it relate?

Menstrual synchrony (the Whitten effect in humans) refers to women living in close proximity synchronizing their menstrual cycles via chemical signals transmitted through axillary (armpit) sweat^[27]

What did McClintock do and how does it relate?

Martha McClintock studied dorm floor menstrual synchrony at Wellesley College^[27]. She collected armpit sweat on cotton swabs from women and men and applied it to female test subjects

What were the results of all McClintock's experiments?

Swabbing female sweat onto other women induced menstrual cycle synchronization^[46]. Swabbing male sweat onto women with irregular cycles induced a regular 28-day menstrual cycle^[46][47]. Additionally, women regularly exposed to men had shorter, more regular cycles compared to those not around men^[28][46]

What is the idea behind perfumes and how does it relate?

Perfumes have been used as sexual attractants for thousands of years^[48]. Common ingredients historically linked to aphrodisiac effects share molecular structures with breakdown products of sex hormones^[48][49]

What are musk & civet in perfume similar to?

Musk and civet have chemical structures very similar to breakdown components of androgens (testosterones)

Who is more sensitive to musk-like odors and during what periods of time?

Females are significantly more sensitive to musk-like odors than males^[49][50]. Sensitivity begins at puberty, peaks during early pregnancy, and decreases late in pregnancy and during menstruation

Can we conclude humans respond to priming pheromones and what is thought about it?

Yes, humans respond to certain priming chemical signals (such as menstrual synchrony), but no human sex-attractant pheromone has ever been isolated or identified scientifically^[47]. Human pheromone sensitivity may be becoming vestigial as human evolution shifted primary communication from chemical signals to verbal communication

What is unique about taste vs smell?

• Taste alone is strictly used as a local decision-making sense to evaluate if a substance is safe, good, or fresh^[1].

• Flavor is fundamentally different from taste because flavor is created only when smell is incorporated alongside taste

What is language and apes?

• Primates share evolutionary roots with humans, displaying similar non-verbal behaviors like gestures, postures, and grabbing others when startled^[3].

• Communication among chimps and bonobos is likely far more complex behind the scenes than humans can currently decipher

What is the big difference between humans and apes language and communication behaviors?

• Lack of Natural Curiosity: Apes show no intrinsic curiosity to learn human communication in the way humans seek to learn theirs^[4].

• Absence of Imitative Drive: Human children naturally repeat and practice words they hear, whereas apes lack this internal drive to imitate human speech^[4][8].

• Social Morality Differences: Conflict resolution operates under different moral norms; for example, if a male chimp charging an opponent accidentally knocks down an innocent young female, the young female must subsequently beg him for forgiveness for getting in his way

What is the area in the brain between monkeys and humans?

Broca's Area is intrinsically involved in human language development and communication, and a structurally/functionally similar area exists in chimpanzees and bonobos, pointing to a common evolutionary origin

What do bonobos combine to communication? How does it relate to humans?

• Bonobos combine two distinct calls to create subtle shifts in meaning^[7][10].

• This mirrors human semantic combination, such as understanding the subtle difference between describing someone as a "tall cook" (a physical description) versus a "good cook" (an evaluation of culinary skill)

What is the incongruity theory of humor and examples?

• Incongruity Theory: States that individuals laugh when an outcome violates expectations or creates an unexpected contrast^[11].

• Ape Examples: A chimp laughing after urinating on a researcher's shoulders^[12]; putting a bag on its head to act silly^[12]; or laughing when someone slips on a banana peel and falls^[12]

What did the Hayes do?

• In the 1950s, the Hayeses raised a chimp named Vicki and tried to mold her mouth to make spoken vocalizations^[13].

• Vicki could only reliably pronounce three words ("mama", "papa", and "cup") due to vocal tract anatomical limitations

What did the Gardners do?

• In the late 1960s, the Gardners raised a chimp named Washoe using American Sign Language (ASL)^[5].

• Washoe communicated desires (e.g., "please tickle", "go in")^[14] and provided the first indication of self-recognition in a mirror^[15]

What did the Premack do?

• In the 1970s, the Premacks trained a chimp named Sarah using physical plastic tiles/symbols of varying shapes and colors^[15][16].

• Sarah used the tiles to request specific foods like jam, bread, and honey

What did Rumbaugh do?

• Developed Yerkish lexigrams—abstract computer keyboard symbols assigned specific meanings—to train chimps like Lana to communicate using strict syntax and grammatical rules^[17][18].

• Lana also coined compound terms, such as calling an orange "Coke which is orange"

What did they conclude from all the experiments?

Non-human apes can learn words/symbols, string words together using grammatical rules of syntax, and coin new compound words^[19]

What is the conversation between tim gill and the other chimp lana and what does it conclude?

• Trainer Tim lied by putting cabbage in a dispenser while telling Lana he loaded chow^[20][21]. Lana corrected him via lexigrams ("No chow in machine... Cabbage in machine") and requested he remove the cabbage^[20][21].

• Conclusion: Proved chimps maintain internal representations of truth, understand noun-verb-subject syntax, and engage in genuine back-and-forth dialogue

What did Sherman and Austin do?

In the 1980s, chimps Sherman and Austin were placed in separate rooms and trained to use lexigrams to communicate with each other to request and share tools and drinks

What are the key takeaways from all the research?

Apes have advanced cognitive abilities allowing them to learn symbolic vocabularies, follow structural rules of grammar, and communicate intentionally across individuals

Who was bonobo kanzi and what did she [he] do?

Kanzi was a world-famous bonobo who acquired lexigram communication naturally by observing his mother's lessons, rather than through direct operant conditioning

What is important about kanzi with communication?

• Symbol-to-Symbol Processing: Kanzi was the first non-human ape to link abstract lexigram graphic symbols directly to spoken English words without needing a concrete photo or physical object^[24][25].

• Kanzi made human-like categorical errors (substituting "strawberry" for "apple")^[26][27] and executed novel spoken commands while trainers wore masks to rule out visual cues

What is parrot communication and how does it relate?

• Parrots possess high cognitive capacity and vocal mimicry, making them prime subjects for inter-species communication research^[29][30].

• Research by Dr. Irene Pepperberg demonstrated that parrot communication goes far beyond simple trick mimicry to show true cognitive understanding^[31][32]

What did Alex show and how does it relate?

Alex the African Grey parrot demonstrated comprehension of abstract concepts, including shape, number, color, and same versus different

What is parrot communication come from what conditioning?

• Standard pet parrot mimicry relies on operant conditioning (performing tricks for food rewards)^[31][32].

• Alex was trained using model-rival observational learning, demonstrating genuine cognitive comprehension rather than simple operant conditioning^[32][33].

What are examples of parrot alex and what does it conclude?

• Examples: Alex counted items up to six, identified colors (e.g., "what number is gray"), and spelled out "N-U-T" when frustrated^[33].

• Conclusion: Alex possessed the cognitive level of a 4-year-old child and the emotional temperament of a 2-year-old (getting impatient, slamming doors, or giving intentionally wrong answers when tired)

What is social systems and the three things to know?

To fully define a species' social system, you must know:

1. Spacing (Territories vs. home ranges)^[38][39].

2. Social Organization (Solitary, pairs, families, dominance hierarchies, harems, aggregations)^[39].

3. Mating System (Promiscuity, monogamy, polygyny)

What is spacing?

Spacing describes how individuals distribute themselves geographically (e.g., home ranges, classical territories, or nesting-only territories)

What does it mean to be social? What is eusocial and examples?

• Being Social: Spending time directly interacting, communicating, cooperating, and maintaining organized group structures with conspecifics^[45].

• Eusociality: An extreme social structure featuring reproductive division of labor (only one dominant female reproduces), overlapping generations, shared nests, and communal care of young^[47][48]. Examples include social insects (ants, bees, termites) and naked mole rats

What is a society and examples?

A group of individuals of the same species that cooperate beyond basic reproductive or parental interactions^[49]. Examples include humans, lions, seals, and swallows

What are benefits of social species?

Enhanced predator defense (safety in numbers), cooperative foraging/hunting, communal brood care, easier mate access, protection against infanticide, division of labor, and environmental modification (e.g., beaver dams)^[50]

What are cost of social species?

Increased resource competition, higher parasite/disease transmission (e.g., swallow bugs in cliff swallow colonies), reproductive interference (e.g., egg removal in acorn woodpeckers), cuckoldry, inbreeding, and crowding stress

What are the three [four] C's of social system?

The four essential C's are Competition, Cooperation, Coordination, and Communication^[52][56]

What are more likely to hatch at same time?

Precocial birds (birds born advanced and mobile) are more likely to coordinate hatching at the exact same time so all chicks can follow the mother immediately

What is social organization?

The structural arrangement of individuals within a group (solitary, pairs, families, dominance hierarchies, harems, aggregations)

What is solitary species and examples?

Species where individuals live independently outside brief mating or nesting interactions^[40]. Examples include Eastern gray squirrels and leopards^[40].

Species with solitary social organization will typically have what kind of mating system?

A promiscuous mating system

What is the leopard example and how does it relate to solitary species?

Leopards hunt alone across large home ranges, maintaining a solitary social organization paired with a promiscuous mating system driven by their foraging ecology^[58][60]

What are pairs and examples?

A stable social unit composed of one male and one female who raise offspring together^[61]. Common in birds and typically paired with monogam

What are families and examples?

A male-female pair accompanied by older offspring who remain to assist in raising younger litters via alloparental care^[43][62]

What are dominance hierarchy and examples?

A rank-based social structure ("pecking order") where alpha individuals get priority access to food and mates^[62][63]. Subordinates remain in the group for protection and safety in numbers^[63][64]. Examples include chickens and baboons

What determines promiscuity and monogamy when it comes to dominance hierarchy?

Frequent turnover and constant competition for the top alpha position lead to promiscuity^[64][66]. If the top alpha pair maintains long-term control, it leads to monogamy

What are harems and examples?

A social organization where one male monopolizes and defends a group of females^[44][67]. Example: wild horses

What is polygynous?

A mating system where one male mates with multiple females^[44]. Harem social organizations universally exhibit a polygynous mating system

What are horse social behavior and why is it beneficial for females and males?

Wild horse harems benefit stallions by securing exclusive mating rights^[69], and benefit mares because the stallion protects them from constant harassment by bachelor males, allowing females to eat and raise foals in peace^[69][70]

What are aggregations and examples?

Temporary groupings of the same species brought together primarily for predator protection without long-term social bonds or individual recognition^[41]. Examples include seals on a beach or schooling fish

What does the chart about social interaction tell us?

• Altruism: Costly to actor (-), beneficial to recipient (+)^[72].

• Reciprocal Altruism: Costly to actor (-), beneficial to recipient (+), with expected payback later^[72].

• Cooperation: Beneficial to actor (+), beneficial to recipient (+)^[72][74].

• Selfishness: Beneficial to actor (+), costly to recipient (-)^[72].

• Spite: Costly to actor (-), costly to recipient (-) (exhibited exclusively by humans)^[72]

What is altruism and examples?

A high-risk behavior that costs the actor to benefit a recipient^[73][74]. Examples include parents defending young against lethal predators^[78], kidney donation^[74], firefighters rushing into burning buildings^[79], and saving a stranger from drowning^[80]

What is reciprocal altruism and examples?

Altruistic acts performed with the expectation of returned favors in the future among individuals with ongoing social relationships^[72]. Examples include unrelated vampire bats regurgitating blood meals to starving roostmates^[75] and male baboon coalitions swapping guarding and mating roles^[65][83].

What is cooperation and examples?

Mutualistic behavior providing immediate shared benefits for all participants^[72][74]. Examples include group hunting/foraging^[74], joint predator defense^[74], and mutual grooming^[84][85]

Why does altruism occur in non-human behaviors and examples?

Non-human altruism occurs due to:

1. Kin selection / Inclusive fitness: Protecting genetic relatives who share alleles (Haldane's rule)^[78][86].

2. Reciprocal altruism: Maintaining long-term social bonds among non-relatives (vampire bats)^[81][82]

What about altruism in humans and examples?

Human altruism is driven by deep social evolution, empathy, reputation, avoiding social ostracism, and avoiding lifelong guilt^[79]. Examples include emergency rescue personnel^[79], anonymous charitable donations^[87][92], organ donation^[93], and saving strangers^[80][90]

What is cooperation/altruism and examples?

Differentiating immediate mutual gains (cooperation) from delayed payback (reciprocal altruism) or indirect genetic gains (kin selection)

What are the different fitnesses?

• Direct Fitness: Reproductive success achieved by producing one's own offspring^[78][86].

• Indirect / Inclusive Fitness: Reproductive success gained by helping genetic relatives survive and pass on shared alleles^[78]

What is alloparenting and examples?

Non-parents or older siblings assisting in raising young^[62][94]. Examples include older bird/mammal siblings helping at the nest^[94][96], juvenile female chimps carrying infants^[96], and human babysitting^[84][96]

What is grooming and what would it be consider?

Grooming can be classified as reciprocal altruism (taking turns)^[84][85], cooperation (mutual hygiene and bonding)^[85], or selfish behavior (currying favor with dominant individuals)

What is male coalitions and what would you consider it and examples

Subordinate males partnering to bypass alpha dominance^[65]. Example: Male baboons forming duos where one guards while the other mates, swapping roles on future opportunities (reciprocal altruism and cooperation)

What is the examples with cheetahs with 5 brothers and how does it relate?

In Kenya, five cheetah brothers stayed together for life, but only the dominant brother mated^[97]. The non-mating brothers assisted due to inclusive fitness (passing on shared alleles via nieces and nephews)^[95]

What is the example with ostrich and how does it relate?

A dominant female ostrich places her own eggs in the center of a communal nest and puts rival females' eggs around the outer perimeter^[98]. When a predator strikes, it eats the outer rival eggs first^[98]. This is selfish behavior disguised as communal care

What is the social brain hypothesis? what is its importance?

The theory that human and primate brain size expanded primarily to handle the complex cognitive demands of living in large social groups (decoding expressions, coordinating, competing, and communicating)^[99].

What is symbol to symbol communication?

Linking an abstract graphic symbol (lexigram) directly to a spoken acoustic symbol (word) without relying on a concrete photograph, drawing, or physical object^[24][25]