Chemical Communication
What is chemical communication??
Chemical communication is a way for both plants and animals to send messages or signals to other living things around them by releasing specific scents and or pheromones and then having the other living things around them reacting by smelling,or tasting the specific scent or pheromone given off by the plant or animal.
What does this behavior look like in nature??
The things in nature communicate with each other and all work and function together. Sometimes its harder to notice and other times not so much. Like grass, when you cut it, it send signals to other grass to grow faster as a way to survive longer and thats why we get that smell of freshly cut grass.Another one you may not notice so much is your dog and where they pee. When they go outside to pee they pee in certain spots. That's because they release a pheromone in their urine that makes the spot they pee on ''theirs'' . Ever hear of ''marking their territory'' that's whats happening, when other animals come around they smell that pheromone and know its someones elses. The same thing applies with wolves, mountain lions, and house cats but they express it in a different way. Cats have scent glands in their cheeks and thats why you notice your cat rubbing its face on things. There's other ways this behavior is expressed. Some animals use this behavior by identifying family members. Just like cats they have scent glands but in their hind leg. Deer use this behavior to communicate with their young. Also ants use this and leave a trail to food back to the nest. The way nature communicates with each other is incredible. Like Tobacco plants, the give off pheromones that attract wasps that take of caterpillars eating the plant. Smell and taste are important in the chemical communication behavior. Many pheromones are smelt but others are teased or picked up by their tongue like a snake. Snakes can't hear very well so they use their tongue to pick up pheromones from their prey in order to eat.