Which of the following organisms perform waggle dance for others of their kin to indicate the direction and the distance to a source of their food?
Detailed Explanation:
Answer: Option 3 — Honeybees
The waggle dance is a unique form of communication performed by worker honeybees to inform other members of the colony about the direction and distance to food sources. This remarkable behavior was decoded by Austrian scientist Karl von Frisch, who won the Nobel Prize for this discovery. The direction of the dance relative to the vertical indicates the angle to the food source in relation to the sun, while the duration of the waggle portion indicates the distance.
📝 Short Notes: Honeybee Waggle Dance
- Discovered by: Karl von Frisch (Austrian ethologist, Nobel Prize 1973)
- Purpose: Communication among worker bees about food source location (nectar, pollen, water)
- Direction indication: Angle of the waggle run relative to vertical = angle to food source relative to the sun's position
- Distance indication: Duration and number of waggles indicate distance to the source (longer dance = farther distance)
- Round dance: Performed for food sources very close to the hive (within 50-100 meters)
- Significance: Demonstrates complex social communication in insects and symbolic language in non-human species
Question 8 of 22 Keystone and Flagship Species
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