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Context

• Scientists have called the movement by an animal in response to a sound - Phonotaxis.

Phonotaxis

About

• It is the movement of an organism in relation to a sound source.

Occurrence

• It has mostly been observed among crickets, moths, frogs, and toads, among a few other creatures.

Types

• There are two types of phonotaxis: positive and negative.

Positive Phonotaxis

• The purpose of positive phonotaxis is attraction.
• It usually happens when the females of a particular species – including those of crickets and frogs – are attracted to the sounds made by the males.

Negative Phonotaxis

• Negative phonotaxis serves to repel or warn, such as when the sound of a predator nearby signals to an animal that it needs to move away.
• Crickets in particular have been found to steer themselves away from low-intensity ultrasound typically associated with bats (which use it for echolocation).

Study

• In 1984, scientists found that Mediterranean house geckos use positive phonotaxis to their advantage.
• The fields that these geckos inhabited were also home to male decorated crickets which used species-specific sounds to attract the females from their burrows.
• The geckos recognized and followed this call until they reached the burrow, where they consumed the female crickets.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Which of the following statements best describes the phenomenon of Phonotaxis: 1.Starling Murmurations in which birds flock together to protect themselves from predators. 2.A phenomenon in which one generation of certain plants and animals reproduce asexually, followed by the sexually reproducing generation. 3.Recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination. 4.The movement of an organism in relation to a sound source. Select the correct code from the options given below: [A] 1 [B] 2 [C] 3 [D] 4 Answer: [D] 4 Explanation Starling murmuration is the phenomenon in which birds flock together to protect themselves from predators. Metagenesis is the phenomenon in which one generation of certain plants and animals reproduce asexually, followed by the sexually reproducing generation. Atavism is the recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination. Phonotaxis is the movement of an organism in relation to a sound source.