Over the course of twenty four weeks, our Dive Deeper course jumps into the world of marine biology and explores different animals and habitats all around our oceans. Following on from our Ocean Explorers course, Dive Deeper offers a deep dive into the underwater world as we learn about the life under the waves. Every class is all-encompassing, so you can dip in and out for a week at a time or stay with us for the full cycle and become a fully-fledged Ocean Explorer: Deep Diver! Let’s dive in and check out our topics. This time – communication in the ocean.
Ocean Communication
When you think of communication, you probably don’t think much about the underwater world, but the ocean is full of animals talking to each other! Communication does not just include sound, it is any exchange of information between individuals, so this can be visual, tactile, chemical, or electrical. Let’s look at some of the cool ways that animals in the sea communicate with one another.
Acoustic
We may think of the ocean as a quiet place, but this is not the case, many animals use sound to communicate in the sea. Some of this sound can be easily heard by humans. Emperor penguins will issue a unique call to their partner to help them find them and their chicks after a long-time hunting at sea. Some on the other hand can’t be picked up by our ears, baleen whales can produce low-pitched infrasonic sounds to communicate across large distances.
Visual
Visual communication can come in different forms, body language and movement or changing colours and patterns. For example, male fiddler crabs will wave their large claws in the air, like they are dancing, to attract females and try to deter other males. Male cuttlefish will use waves of zebra stripes on their bodies to show a female they are ready to mate, and blue-ringed octopus will use the blue patterns on their bodies to show they are ready to attack.
Tactile
Touching is the communication that requires animals to be the closest. Sea otters use touching to establish social bonds – they can be seen rubbing faces and noses together. Dolphins have also been recorded using tactile communication; this might include rubbing their bodies and fins against each other, or as part of an aggressive encounter, they can be seen slamming together and butting heads.
Chemical and Electrical
As water may not always be clear enough to see through, and tactile communication requires animals to get close, chemical and electrical signals can be a great way to pass on a message in the ocean. Some animals will release chemicals into the water called pheromones. Crustaceans can sample these with their antennules and use them to find mates.
‘Ocean Record Breakers’ is just one of the 24 topics we have in our Dive Deeper course. In the class, we’ll learn all about what crustaceans are and explore the different species in our oceans!
Ready to start your ocean exploring journey? To sign up and become an Ocean Explorer today click here. While you wait for your first class, why not follow us on Facebook, where we regularly share fun facts, craft ideas and cute videos. You might also like to sign up to our monthly WiseKids newsletter for a monthly dose of marvellous marine-themed content straight to your inbox!
