all-spectrum communication

The analysis of communication between individual animals has led to several discoveries of the highest significance. Althgough something simpler was initially expected, communicating signals have turned out, at the very least, to include an announcement that the sender is of given species, sex, and appropriate age, and is in one of a relatively few basic behavioural states, such as readiness for fighting, fleeing or mating (Sebeok and Ramsay, 1969; Hinde, 1972; Smith, in press). These messages also have an intensity scale from weak to strong. Conspecific partners respond to varying degrees and in different ways, but often appropriately according to their own age or reproductive condition. Individual recognition of conspecific companions is common at least in birds and mammals (Falls, 1969; Beer, 1973a, 1973b, 1975, 1976). A frequent element is the flexibility and interrelatedness of the signaling behaviour; fairly complex sequences are performed, with each step depending on an appropriate signal or response from the partner (Griffin, 1976).

The study of animal behaviour brings out the fact that one part of animal activity includes reactions of individuals to informative signals coming from other individuals. Signals are generally defined according to the physico-chemical nature of the stimulus or the sensory properties of the organs which act as detector-receptors. They are chemical (smell), visual (sight), electrical (galvanic sensibility) tactile and kinaesthetic (vibratory sense) and acoustical (hearing).

So almost every sensory system is employed by some species of animals for communication with conspecies. Chemical signals, including pheromones, are ordinarilyy detected by the olfactory system and are especially important in insects, flying phalangers, rodents, cats, and monkeys (Wilson, 1975). Surface waves are used by aquatic insects (Wilcox, 1972). Tactile communication includes not only direct contact between animals, but communication via vibrations of the ground or vegetation. Many groups of fishes that use electrical orientation (Bullock, 1973) also communicate by electrical signaling (Hopkins, 1974; Westby, 1974). Then there is Tanzsprache (dance speech) of bees which is a very complexly received and expressed message system. Sounds are extensively used by many groups of invertebrates, as well as by all classes of vertebrate animals (Sebeok, 1968, 1972). Communication by visual signals too is widespread, but it hasn't been studied as extensively as has acoustical communication, primarly because it is technically more difficult to record and play back visual signals (Griffin, 1976).

Several studies of languagelike communication learned by chimpanzees have taken place. For example chimpanzees are able to learn sign language rather than vocalizations to communicate. The reason for this is suspected to be that the chimpanzees brain is capable of relatively complex communication but that this capability can be expressed far more readily through manual gestures than by vocalization. The extensive observations by Goodall (1968, 1971, 1975) have clearly demonstrated that wild chimpanzees use gestures and facial expressions that are effective but are difficult for human observers to analyze in detail. This shows that the physiological prerequisitions of a species are to be kept in mind when studying the communication of that species. Other animals are largely controlled by their instincts not their free analytic minds, as humans. Different acoustic signals are sometimes triggered by specific hormonal or other activity or vice versa. For example the roar of a lion seems to be not controllable by the lion itself. When started, his muscles are so tensed and his chest under a lot of pressure, so it looks like he must finish in a certain time and not before, because this pressure has a way of natural decay. Also a dog or a wolf doesn't seem to be able to suddenly just close his mouth when howling. Biomusicological aspects should not be left out when studying animal communication and it's musical values. But they are not dicussed more deeplu in this essay though. I leave it to further studies.

Chemical messages have the wildest range, and their remanence enables them to impart lasting information. Visual information is more limited in range because of natural screening caused by vegetation, and also by the sensitivity of the eye. Acoustical message is clearly greater than optical or gestural messages, though sound emission can be parially hindered by climatic conditions. Acoustic message undoubtedly represents the most complete and efacious mode of imparting information, owing to its facility of diffusion, its resistance to disturbances and also to its possibility of creating a vocabulary by a variation of its different parameters. (Dumortier, 1963)

…from:
Communication and Music
Some issues of non-human animal communication. Is there a difference between ordinary communication and musical behaviour
by Kairi Kosk

Elephants communicate with sounds below the range of the human ear.
[drawing by Doug Millison]