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Advertising in biology means the use of
displays A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form (the latter used for example in tactile electronic displays for blind people). When the input information that is supplied has an electrical signal the ...
by
organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...
s such as
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s and
plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...
s to
signal In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The '' IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing' ...
their presence for some
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
ary reason. Such signalling may be honest, used to attract other organisms, as when
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s use bright colours, patterns, and scent to attract pollinators such as bees; or, again honestly, to warn off other organisms, as when distasteful animals use
warning coloration Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste ...
to prevent attacks from potential predators. Such honest advertising benefits both the sender and the receiver. Other organisms may advertise dishonestly; in Batesian mimicry, edible animals more or less accurately mimic distasteful animals to reduce their own risk of being attacked by predators.


In plants

Insect-pollinated Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, som ...
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s use bright colours, patterns, rewards of nectar and pollen, and scent to attract pollinators such as bees. Some also use drugs such as
caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to ...
to encourage bees to return more often. Advertising is influenced by
sexual selection Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ( ...
: in dioecious plants like
sallow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...
, the male flowers are brighter yellow (the colour of their pollen) and have more scent than female flowers. Honey bees are more attracted by the brighter male flowers, but not by their scent. Many flowers that are adapted for pollination by birds produce copious quantities of nectar and advertise this with their red coloration. Insects see red less well than other colours, and the plant needs to devote its energy to attracting birds that can act as pollinators rather than insects that cannot. In fact, the Canary Island
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
'' Echium wildpretii'' has two subspecies, a red-flowering one on Teneriffe which is mainly pollinated by birds, and a pink-flowered one on Las Palmas which is pollinated by insects.


In animals

Advertising takes a variety of forms in animals. Cott, Hugh B (1940). ''
Adaptive Coloration in Animals ''Adaptive Coloration in Animals'' is a 500-page textbook about camouflage, warning coloration and mimicry by the Cambridge zoologist Hugh Cott, first published during the Second World War in 1940; the book sold widely and made him famous. The ...
''. Methuen. page 191
Breeding adults often
display Display may refer to: Technology * Display device, output device for presenting information, including: ** Cathode ray tube, video display that provides a quality picture, but can be very heavy and deep ** Electronic visual display, output devi ...
to attract a mate. Breeding males of
sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
birds, such as
peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
s,
birds of paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of ...
and
bower bird Bowerbirds () make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate. The family ...
s, have elaborate plumage,
song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...
, and behaviour. These evolved through
sexual selection Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ( ...
by females. The males use these features alone or in combination to advertise their presence, and, especially but not only in species with
lek mating A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. A lek can also indicate an avail ...
, to
compete Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
with rival males. In a lek, the presence of multiple males advertises and potentially benefits all the males present, so they are both collaborating and competing. Breeding males may also advertise honestly to warn rival males of their strength, a classic example being the
red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...
, where the roaring of a rutting stag reliably signals its size. The honest advertisement benefits both sender and receiver, as neither need become involved in a costly fight to assess their relative strength. In the breeding season, frogs congregate at suitable breeding sites and call to advertise their presence, particularly at night. Females can distinguish between the fitness of males based on the characteristics of their voices. Desert toads emerge from their burrows in response to heavy rain. Males emerge first and when one finds a suitable ephemeral pool, its call attracts others and they all congregate there. Males may call in unison in noisy choruses, and breeding is explosive, a mass of males competing for the smaller number of females. Colour can be used in advertising. Some butterflies have eyespots on their wings. These make no effort at concealment, but may startle a potential predator into trying elsewhere. The
western skink The western skink ''(Plestiodon skiltonianus)'' is a species of small, smooth- scaled lizard with relatively small limbs. It measures about 100 to 210 mm (about 4 to 8.25 inches) in total length (body + tail). It is one of seven species of ...
has a distinctive blue tail. If the skink cannot escape from a predator by concealment or flight, it can afford to lose its tail in order to escape with its life. Similarly, some species of grasshopper are well-camouflaged when at rest but flash vivid colouration when flying. The grasshopper thus avoids being eaten while the potential predator hunts in vain for the brightly coloured insect it saw. Male crickets chirp to attract females, and in some species, their calls can be heard from great distances. However, a certain parasitic fly has taken advantage of this, the female is attracted to a calling male cricket on which it then deposits its developing larvae. Elaborate
song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...
is especially well-developed among
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s, and again sexual selection has driven its evolution. Songbirds such as warblers have an extensive repertoire of songs, sometimes with thousands of phrases. The
sedge warbler The sedge warbler (''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing ...
assembles an effectively infinite number of songs by assembling phrases in combination. Laboratory experiments by Clive Catchpole demonstrate that female sedge warblers select males with more varied songs, while field observation indicates that such males attract mates before other males. Breeding females may advertise
oestrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous ...
(being "on heat" or "in season", i.e. that they are fertile, ovulating and receptive to breeding) with
pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
s (scent), courtship behaviour, and visual signals. Human females have long been thought to conceal their ovulation, but women's behaviour changes around the time of ovulation with increased sexual motivation, and they are more attracted to men at that time; conversely, men are more attracted to the scent of women around the time of ovulation than in the non-ovulating (luteal) phase of the menstrual cycle. Distasteful animals use
warning coloration Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste ...
(aposematism) to prevent attacks from potential predators. Many animals wish to advertise to those of their own species while being camouflaged to avoid
predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
. Many deep sea fish do this by way of bioluminescence. Patterns of
photophore A photophore is a glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, ...
s on their undersides emit light that from below hide their silhouettes and resemble the scintillating lights produced by the ever-moving surface layers of water. At the same time, each species has a distinctive pattern of photophores that enables another member of its species to identify it as a con-specific.


References

{{reflist, 30em Ethology Evolutionary biology