Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why do animals use communication when making decisions about food, danger, and mates?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Animal communication
Animals communicate by sending and receiving signals. For example, a mother dingo (Canis lupus dingo) can communicate certain types of information to her pups by using tactile signals conveyed through grooming.
Animals use communication to provide information that helps others make better decisions regarding food, danger, and mates. Because life rarely provides complete information, animals rely on signalsāsuch as sounds, postures, or odorsāto reduce uncertainty and improve their chances of survival and reproductive success.12
Why Animals Communicate
- Decision-Making: Receivers integrate signal information with prior experience and inherited biases to make more accurate choices than they could by relying on their own senses alone.12
- Fitness Benefits: Communication is favored by evolution when the benefits of the interaction outweigh the costs of signaling, such as the time and energy required to produce or process a signal.3
- Contextual Needs: Different contexts require specific information. For example, animals use signals to coordinate group movements, share food locations, alert others to predators, or mediate conflicts over resources.2
Key Functions
- Food: Signals help individuals locate resources or assess the nutritional quality of food, often through associative learning.6
- Danger: Alarm signals allow groups to coordinate escapes, confuse predators, or prompt protective behaviors.4
- Mates: Courtship displays help synchronize mating, reduce aggression between partners, and allow individuals to select high-quality mates.56