Classifying
Organisms
https://wordwall.net/resource/224
3274/science/year-6-
classification-activity
Cell
structure
https://wordwall.net/resource/1
5964649/animal-and-plant-
cells
https://wordwall.net/resource/332808/
science/plant-and-animal-cells-ks4
Today’s Focus
Communication
Communication is when one animal transmits
information to another animal causing some
kind of change in the animal that gets the
information.
Communication is usually between animals
of a single species, but it can also happen
between two animals of different species.
Animals communicate using signals, which
can include visual; auditory, or sound-based;
chemical, involving pheromones; or tactile,
touch-based, cues.
Elephant Trumpeting: Elephants trumpet
to express a range of emotions.
Example: An elephant trumpeting loudly
can be a signal of danger or excitement.
Bee Waggle Dance: Bees perform dances
to indicate food locations.
Example: A bee’s dance can precisely point
to the direction and distance of nectar
sources.
Color Change in Chameleons: Chameleons
change colors to communicate moods or heat.
Example: A chameleon turning bright colors
might be signaling its readiness to mate.
Mating
https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?
v=1XkPeN3AWIE&ab_channel=
BBCEarth
Pheromones
A pheromone is a secreted chemical signal used
to trigger a response in another individual of the
same species.
Pheromones are especially common among
social insects, such as ants and bees.
Pheromones may attract the opposite sex, raise
an alarm, mark a food trail, or trigger other, more
complex behaviors.
As the technology for isolating and
identifying trace amounts of compounds has
become more refined, pheromones have
been found in almost every kind of animal, in
squid, lobsters, ants, fish, salamanders, and
mice, to name just a few.
Although pheromones are important in
many species for finding mates for sex,
they can have a wide variety of other
functions, such as one produced by
mother rabbits that prompts suckling by
their pups.
The diagram below shows pheromone
trails laid down by ants to direct others in
the colony to sources of food.
When a food source is rich, ants will
deposit pheromone on both the
outgoing and return legs of their trip,
building up the trail and attracting more
ants.
When the food source is about to run
out, the ants will stop adding
pheromone on the way back, letting the
trail fade out
Ants also use pheromones to communicate their social status, or role, in the
colony, and ants of different "castes" may respond differently to the same
pheromone signals
A squashed ant will also release a burst of pheromones that warns nearby
ants of danger—and may incite them to swarm and sting
Most pheromones are detected by the
sense of smell. However, not all smells
are pheromones.
Mammals, including humans, also give off
a cloud of molecules that represent our
unique individual "smell" or chemical
profile. These differences between
individuals make it possible for dogs to
distinguish people by smell.
People are quite good at it, too—parents
can distinguish their baby from others by
smell alone. Ants similarly can distinguish
between members of their own colony
and those from other colonies. In both
mammals and insects, learning is
necessary to develop this ability.
How smell works
Pheromones are smells that have evolved functions as
signals.
How the sense of smell works was a mystery until 1991,
when Linda Buck and Richard Axel, then both at Columbia
University, published their discovery of the highly variable
family of almost 1,000 different olfactory receptors in the
nose of the mouse.
Odorant molecules
interact with these
chemosensory
receptors, proteins on
the surface membrane
of olfactory sensory
neurons exposed in the
nose to the outside
world.
When an odorant binds
to the chemosensory
receptor, it stimulates
the nerve to send a
signal to the brain.
Buck and Axel also
discovered that each
olfactory sensory
neuron in the mouse
nose carries just one of
the 1,000 types of
chemosensory
receptor.
Visual signalling
Visual communication involves signals that can be seen.
Examples of these signals include gestures, facial
expressions, body postures, and coloration.
Gesture and posture are widely used visual signals. For
instance, chimpanzees communicate a threat by raising
their arms, slapping the ground, or staring directly at
another chimpanzee. Gestures and postures are
commonly used in mating rituals and may place other
signals—such as bright coloring—on display.
