BEHAVIOR & ADAPTATION. Communication. Geoffroy's Marmoset, Callithrix
geoffroyi. Golden Lion Tamarin, Leontopithecus rosalia. Golden Lion Tamarin ...
BEH AV IOR & A DA P TAT ION Communication Owl Vision and Hearing
70˚overlapping binocular fields of view
right monocular field of view
left monocular field of view
left monocular field of view
right monocular field of view
parrot
great horned owl
Binocular Vision
Monocular Vision
close set immobile eyes and overlapping field of vision
wide field of view but with no overlapping field of vision
Why is owl vision and hearing so accurate? Owls have exceptional vision and hearing. Large eyes act as radar and let in more light, enabling accurate hunting in low light. Immobile eyes are set close together, providing binocular vision and excellent depth perception. As a result, the frontal field of view is only 70 degrees, causing tunnel vision. Owls compensate for this by rotating their heads 270 degrees. This range is three quarters the circumference of a complete circle!
Owls have oversized skulls with large ear openings and two unlike ear canals. These openings are lined with soft feathers and funnel sound to the inner ear. The ear openings are different sizes and asymmetrically placed on either side of the owl’s head. Asymmetry allows owls to precisely calculate the direction and origin of the sound.
BEH AV IOR & A DA P TAT ION Communication Geoffroy’s Marmoset, Callithrix geoffroyi Golden Lion Tamarin, Leontopithecus rosalia
Golden Lion Tamarin
What is that smell? Marmosets and tamarins mark their entire environment, including resting areas and food resources. The natural scent of these animals is what you smell in this building!
Marmosets and tamarins scent-mark in order to communicate with each other. By secreting strong-smelling substances from glands on their bodies, they can inform others of their species, sex, reproductive condition and social status.
Marmosets have been known to mark during pregnancy, possibly as a means of alerting others that they will soon need help caring for young. Scent-marking can also be used as a sign of aggression or territoriality. When new individuals are introduced to an area, the pre-existing group may increase the frequency or change the quality of scent as a warning to the intruder.
BEH AV IOR & A DA P TAT ION Communication Reeve’s Muntjac, Muntiacus reevesi Japanese Sika Deer, Cervus nippon nippon
Reeve’s Muntjac
Why are muntjacs called “barking deer?” Muntjacs are referred to as “barking deer” because they often emit a deep, bark-like sound in response to a predator. Muntjacs use barking as a mechanism to reveal themselves and warn predators to move elsewhere. Barking continues for up to an hour and occurs most often when environmental conditions decrease visibility.
Why do sika deer vocalize? Unlike muntjacs, sika deer vocalize to communicate to potential mates during the rutting season which lasts from late September to December. Females whistle to one another while males screech. Bucks use their sharp antlers, fiercely fighting to gain access to up to 12 females at a time. Does communicate to young in “goatlike bleats,” and fawns respond with horse-like neighs.
BEH AV IOR & A DA P TAT ION Communication Red Fox Vulpes vulpes
Why don’t red foxes share habitat with others? Red and Arctic foxes competitively exclude one another from a shared habitat. Reds are generalists and eat a wide range of food items including fruits and small animals while Arctics are specialists, relying on a carnivorous diet of mostly dead fish and crabs found on the shoreline. Reds are twice as large as Arctics and must consume more food to survive. Arctics, however, are able to survive in colder habitat because of limited energy expenditure, despite food scarcity. The large size of Reds helps to maintain dominance and excludes Arctics from southern habitats where food is more abundant.
How often do foxes scent mark? Red foxes urine-mark up to 70 times an hour, with dominant foxes marking more than subordinate. Foxes are solitary and mark their territories with anal sacs, skin glands, and urine.
What is all that yapping about? Foxes vocalize to maintain dominance and often aggressively yap. Fox vocalizations include howls, barks, whimpers, and screams.
BEH AV IOR & A DA P TAT ION Communication Bobcat Lynx rufus
How do bobcats mark and maintain a territory? Bobcats rely primarily upon scent and visual signals to warn intruding animals of territorial boundaries. These signals include deposits of urine, feces, and anal gland secretions along boundaries. Such signs also communicate sexual status. Bobcats usually scrape the ground along these boundaries to further advertise the markings. Intruding cats typically respect territory signs, refrain from confrontation, and move on.
Bobcats rarely vocalize to warn intruders. They do, however, present visual threat displays during close-range confrontation. Facial displays include defensive and attack expressions.
