Definition: Innate movement response ^^towards or away^^ from a ^^directional^^ stimulus
- ^^Towards^^ stimulus: ^^positive^^ taxis
- ^^Away^^ from stimulus: ^^negative^^ taxis
Examples of describing taxis responses:
- Movement towards light: positive phototaxis
- Movement away from light: negative phototaxis
Adaptive advantage of taxis responses:
Allows the animal to take a direct route ^^away from unfavourable conditions^^, and ^^towards more favourable conditions^^
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Kineses

Definition: Innate movement response to an external ^^non-directional stimulus^^
- Direction of movement is random + no relation to direction of stimulus
Orthokinesis
- Definition:
The ^^speed^^ of an animal in response to a stimulus is ^^proportional to the intensity of the stimulus^^ causing the movement - unfavourable conditions = faster, favourable conditions = slower
Klinokinesis
- Definition:
The ^^rate of turning^^ of an animal in response to a stimulus is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus.
Unfavourable conditions = faster rate of turning
Adaptive advantage of orthokinesis and klinokinesis:
Fast speed + rapid turning = cover more ground at higher rate => higher chance of finding favourable environments
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Homing

Definition: An animal’s ability to ^^return home over unfamiliar territory^^
Activity rhythm: Can be daily, annually, or biennially
Examples:
- Honeybees ^^return to their hive after foraging^^
Daily/circadian rhythm
Foraging may take them as far as 10km from the hive
- Salmon will return to the river that they were born to breed
They grow up + spend their adult lives at sea, and ^^only return during breeding season^^
- Adult Southern royal albatross or toroa (Diomedea epomophora) will return to the established breeding and nesting colony at the tip of the Otago Peninsula ^^bienially^^ (taking place every two years), to lay an egg, incubate it, to then have it hatch (September-November-February). They will also fly to find food ^^daily^^, and ^^regularly return^^ to check on their chicks.
All three examples above exhibit the ability to return home after finding food (often daily), or to breed (often annually or biennially)

Migration

Definition: ^^Mass movement^^ of individuals from ^^one geographical location to another^^ over a ^^long period of time^^
Cyclical/Return migration:
- Definition: Animals will exhibit an ^^annual cycle of migration^^ from breeding grounds to feeding grounds (overwintering grounds).
- For some, cyclical migration will occur at different stages in their life instead of annually
One way migration:
- Definition: Migration that involves ^^leaving the home range^^ for a new location and ^^never returning^^ to the original home range
- Eg. Migrants die at the end of migration
Migration preparation: Controlled by their biological clock
- ^^Building up^^ their ^^fat reserves^^ to ensure an energy supply for the journey
- Moulting feathers + replacing them with new ones => ensure maximum flight efficiency
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Animals need to use navigation methods to find their way home (homing) or to travel to overwintering or breeding grounds (migration) over unfamiliar territory
^^Navigation is^^ ^^innate,^^ but skill can be ^^improved through experience^^
Often animals will need to use a ^^combination of navigation methods^^ to ^^increase the success of migration^^
- Eg. An animal that usually uses solar navigation may need to use magnetic or topographical navigation on cloudy days.
Topographical memory
- Navigation system using visual cues like landmarks.
- More common in homing responses with familiar landmarks
- Migrating animals may use coasts, islands, mountain ranges or rivers etc
Solar navigation - Sun compass
- Navigation system using the sun as a compass as it moves across the sky from east to west during the day
- By maintaining a set angle with the sun, the animal is able to move in a straight line
- The animal’s biological clock compensates for the sun’s movement and allows it to change its position relative to the sun accordingly
- Bees and migratory animals use a Sun compass
Stellar navigation - Star compass
- Where animals can navigate by orientating to star patterns ie. constellations.
- Animals in the northern hemisphere can locate the north by using the Pole Star
- Animals in the southern hemisphere can locate the south by using the South Celestial pole (NOTE: This is not an actual star)
- All migratory birds use a star compass
Magnetic fields - Magnetic compass
- Animals use the Earth’s magnetic field lines to navigate
- Some birds such as pigeons have a spot of magnetite in their beaks to detect changes in the magnetic field
Chemical navigation - Scent trails
- Animals can use scent trails to find their way to a specific location
Sound navigation - Sonar
- Animals such as bats and dolphins can use echolocation to home
- How: Sound waves are emitted that echo (bounce back) from objects and then they use the speed of the bounce back to position themselves in relation to the object