Sensory Systems
- Page ID
- 184631
In more advanced animals, the senses are constantly at work, making the animal aware of stimuli—such as light, or sound, or the presence of a chemical substance in the external environment—and monitoring information about the organism’s internal environment. All bilaterally symmetric animals have a sensory system, and the development of any species’ sensory system has been driven by natural selection; thus, sensory systems differ among species according to the demands of their environments. The shark, unlike most fish predators, is electrosensitive—that is, sensitive to electrical fields produced by other animals in its environment. While it is helpful to this underwater predator, electrosensitivity is a sense not found in most land animals.
This shark uses its senses of sight, vibration (lateral-line system), and smell to hunt, but it also relies on its ability to sense the electric fields of prey, a sense not present in most land animals. (credit: modification of work by Hermanus Backpackers Hostel, South Africa)
Complete the tasks on the list below:
- Go to this page,http://cnx.org/contents/GFy_h8cu@10.53:6fl-DRCu@6/Sensory-Processes, on the left you will see a menu, read the following pages for the Sensory Systems:
- Use the QR codes on the pages to review and get visual aids for the concepts that are being presented
- Use the Glossary at the bottom of the page to help with the vocabulary for this week
- Use the Review Questions and Free Response questions to check for understanding
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