CHAPTER 1

STIMULU
S AND
RESPONS
E
1.4 IMPORTANCE OF RESPONSE TOWARDS STIMULI IN OTHER
ANIMALS
 CHARACTERISTICS
Position of both eyes
Size of the field of vision
Overlap in fields of vision
Type of vision
Estimation of distance
Effect on animal
Examples
STEREOSCOPIC VISION
In front of the head
Less wide
More overlap
3D
Able to accurately estimate
distances, size and depth of
objects
Ability to estimate distance
accurately help predator
animals to hunt
Human, predator animals
such as owl, tiger and snake
MONOCULAR VISION
At the side of the head
Wide
Less overlap
2D
Unable to accurately
estimate distances, size and
depth of objects
Wide field of vision helps
prey animals to detect their
enemies
Prey animals such as
rabbit , rat and deer
Stereophonic Hearing
● Hearing with both ears
● Enables us to accurately determine the direction of the
sound and location of source of sound as follows :
○ The ear that is neared to the source of sound
receives sound earlier and louder that the ear that
is further away from the source of sound
○ The time difference and loudness of the sound
receives by both ears is detected by the brain
which subsequently enables us to determine the
direction of the sound that is from right to left and
location of the source of sound that is to the right
of the listener as in diagram
 Human
20-20kHz

Bat
Elephant
2kHz -110
16Hz-12 kHz
kHz
Different hearing
frequencies for
humans and
animals
Grasshopper
Monkey
7kHz-
400Hz-6kHz
100kHz

Frog
50Hz- 8kHz
 Importance of Stereophonic Hearing in
Animals
● Essential for the survival of species
● Helps predator animals to determine location of their prey
● Helps prey animals to determine the location of their predators

Cats also have stereophonic hearing and they can hear sounds at a
higher frequency than human and dogs.
There are more than 2 dozens of muscles in cats ear that enables
them to move their ears, 180ᶿ
Makes cat as excellent predatory animals !
Sensory Organs Ensure
The Survival of
Animals on Earth
Responds towards stimuli usually ensures
the survival of all life especially
animals on Earth
Bats have poor eyesight but they
have a very sensitive sense of
hearing

Grasshoppers have fine hairs all

over their body to detect air
movements
 Feelers on catfishes sense food

Leopards have very good

stereoscopic vision to help them The earthworms’ body are covered
hunt prey with chemoreceptors to taste and
detect chemical substances in the
soil

Chameleons can move their

eyeballs independently to see two
different directions at the same time
Secretion of pheromone
 functions to detect vibrations and water movement and
allows fish to orientate themselves in a water current
LATERAL LINE (rheotaxis), gain information about their spatial
environment, and also plays a vital role in schooling
Producing electric field
When an electric eel senses prey, or a threat, it
sends a signal through its nervous system to
the electrocytes