Why Biocommunication of Animals?

Abstract

Current knowledge indicates communicative interactions within and between organisms in all domains, i.e. bacteria, protozoa, animals, fungi and plants as essential. Communicative interactions are necessary within organisms – intraorganismic – to coordinate cell-cell interactions, similar to tissues and organs especially in complex bodies. Interorganismic communication we find in all signal mediated interactions between species and related species (species-specific). If species communicate with non-members or in the case of symbiotic interactions we term them transorganismic communication. Throughout all kingdoms of life we do not find any coordination and organization that does not depend on communication. In contrast to biocommunication of bacteria, fungi, plants and viruses communicative interactions between animals show signs that depend on vocal and visible expression patterns. This means although also animals depend in most cases on volatile substances such as pheromones to identify group identity of self and non-self a variety of signs transport meaning via tactile behavior, vocal sounds and visual gestures. This opens a variety of combinatory possibilities and broaden the communicative competencies and its complexity exponentially in comparism to biocommunication of bacteria, fungi and plants.