Organisms and Their Environments Sensory Organs Life Science
What are senses? Tell animals what they need to know about their environment All environmental signals involve a receptor organ.
What are sensory organs? Sensory organs are any part of the body receives signals from the environment. They help to keep them out of danger and enable them to find food or shelter.
Human Senses Seeing Hearing Tasting Smelling Touching
Seeing Accomplished using eyes The eye is an almost spherical organ. The eye is protected by bones in the skull. The eye is responsible for detecting colors, shapes, sizes, and space by receiving light.
Seeing Other animals’ eyes may differ in type, number, and in location on the body. Behaviors Related to this Sense... Locate food or shelter Recognize objects or other organisms
Hearing Accomplished using ears The ear is located on either side of the head. The ears receives sound vibrations from the environment.
Hearing Other animals’ hearing organs may differ in type and in location on the body. Behaviors Related to this Sense... Locate food Sense danger to escape enemies Communication
Tasting Accomplished using the taste buds located on the tongue. Examples of tastes that humans can detect are... Salty Sweet Bitter Sour
Tasting Other animals’ taste organs may differ in type and in location on the body. Behaviors Related to this Sense... Judge which foods are okay to eat
Smelling Accomplished using the nose Humans react to different smells in the environment in different ways.
Smelling Other animals’ smelling organs may differ in type and in location on the body. Behaviors Related to this Sense... Avoid danger Find food Recognize other organisms
Touching Accomplished using the skin The skin can detect 5 different types of sensations: touch pressure cold pain heat
Touching Other animals’ touching organs may differ in type and in location on the body. Behaviors Related to this Sense... Identify food React to dangerous situations Care for each other
In general, every animal has the senses it needs for its own environment and way of life.
Other Animals Senses Some other animals need different information about the world to survive, so they have senses that can be different from humans. echolocation in bats night (infrared) vision in some snakes electric senses of rays and sharks magnetic senses of migratory birds (pigeons), butterflies, and some whales
Echolocation in Bats
Night Vision of Some Snakes
Electric Senses of Rays and Sharks Go to the following website… http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/sharks-&-rays/senses.htm
Magnetic Senses of migratory birds, butterflies, and some whales
Organisms and Their Environments Sensory Organs Life Science