← Responses of plants and animals to their external environment

5 Animal orientation behaviour

Orientation responses

Behaviour	What it is	Example / survival value
Kinesis	Non-directional: rate of movement/turning changes with stimulus intensity	Woodlice move faster in dry air, slower in damp → end up in favourable (damp) areas
Taxis	Directional: moves toward (+) or away (−) from a stimulus	Maggots move away from light (negative phototaxis) → avoid predators / drying
Homing	Return to a home site	Salmon return to natal river → familiar breeding ground
Migration	Long-distance seasonal movement	Godwits migrate to feeding/breeding grounds → resources & suitable climate

ℹ

Kinesis vs taxis: the key distinction

Taxis is directional (movement relative to the stimulus direction); kinesis is non-directional (only the rate of random movement changes). Both end with the animal in a more favourable place.

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