PHONOTAXIS
- ENVIRONMENT
News: Phonotaxis:
First sound, then motion
What's
in the news?
●
The click of crickets in the evening or
frogs croaking during the monsoons might sound random or even annoying, but
they have a good reason for making these sounds.
Phonotaxis:
●
It is the movement by an animal in response to a sound.
Observed
in:
●
It has mostly been observed among crickets, moths, frogs and toads, among
a few other creatures.
Types
of Phonotaxis:
1.
Positive phonotaxis:
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The purpose of positive phonotaxis is
attraction.
●
It usually happens when the females of a
particular species – including those of crickets and frogs – are attracted to
the sounds made by the males.
2.
Negative phonotaxis:
●
It serves to repel or warn, such as when
the sound of a predator nearby signals to an animal that it needs to move away.
●
Crickets in particular have been found to
steer themselves away from low-intensity ultrasound typically associated with
bats (which use it for echolocation).