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Which situation is most likely to involve the action of a pheromone?

a. Albatrosses showing courtship behavior

b. A prairie dog emitting a loud yelp

c. The chirping of a cricket

d. Urine of a male mouse attracting a female

e. A male collared lizard showing his large mouth

User Nat Webb
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Answer:

D. Urine of a male mouse attracting a female

Step-by-step explanation:

Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to impact the behavior of the receiving individuals. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology.

Bees, wasps, ants, moths and other insects rely largely upon pheromones as a means of communication. Pheromones are chemical substances which may be secreted in urine, dung or produced by special glands.

Pheromones mediate many of the complex interplays within colonies of social insects such as bees, wasps, and ants.

Pheromones are chemical signals that have evolved for communication between members of the same species. A pheromone signal elicits a specific reaction in the receiver, for example, a stereotyped behavior (releaser effect) or a developmental process (primer effect). Some pheromones can have both effects. All sorts of molecules, large and small, have been found acting as pheromones, depending on whether the message is sent out on wind or water currents or placed directly on the nose or antenna of the recipient.

Most pheromones are detected by the sense of smell. However, not all smells are pheromones. Mammals, including humans, also give off a cloud of molecules that represent our unique individual "smell" or chemical profile. These differences between individuals make it possible for dogs to distinguish people by smell. People are quite good at it, too—parents can distinguish their baby from others by smell alone. Ants similarly can distinguish between members of their own colony and those from other colonies. In both mammals and insects, learning is necessary to develop this ability. The sources of the molecules that make up an animal’s "individual smell" include its own secretions and also may reflect its environment, food, bacteria, immune system, and molecules picked up from other individuals in its social group

User Shil Nevado
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