Feelings of numbers are created in different ways in different animals
Man is using numbers in one way or another in almost every aspect of his life. Human life is unimaginable without numbers.
But where did people get the ability to understand the concept or number of these numbers?
In the last few decades, it has been an important discovery that man did not derive his ability to use numbers from language, but from his biological inheritance.
If so, the question is: What is the need for the ability to understand the number of an animal?
As far as is known, the ability of an animal to understand its numbers is a great advantage for its survival.
That is why many kinds of animals seem to have this ability.
Observing and observing different animals in their natural habitats, exploiting their food sources, catching prey, protecting themselves from other animals, finding ways to move around in their habitats, and communicating with each other - all increase their capacity. The idea.
Bacteria also understand numbers
Even the world's oldest unicellular organisms, such as bacteria - which cannot be seen with the naked eye - could use numerical data.
Bacteria survive by taking nutrients from their surroundings as food. In most cases they multiply themselves by breaking down.
However, in recent years microbiologists have discovered that these bacteria also have a 'social life', and they can sense the presence or absence of other bacteria around them.
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Bear hunting - can they count fish?
You can also say that they understand the number of bacteria.
Let's look at the marine bacterium Vibrio fishery as an example.
Light-spreading bacteria
They have a special ability - they can create light from their bodies much like fireflies, which is called bioluminescence.
It has been observed that when they are solitary in dilute water solution, they do not emit any light.
But when their numbers increase to a certain number - they all shine together. That means Vibrio Fishery understands when they are alone, and when there are others around him.
It is also known that they use a 'chemical' language to spread this light.
That is, molecules of certain chemicals are released from bacteria. And as the number of bacteria in the water increases, so does the amount of those chemical molecules. When it reaches a certain number, it is called 'quorum.'
The 'quorum' is where the bacteria get a sense of how many people are there - and then they're all scattering light.
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Like fireflies, there are bacteria that can scatter light
Scientists have named it 'quorum sensing'.
It's not just Vibrio Fishery that has the power. All bacteria tell how many of them are in themselves, and use the chemical 'signaling molecule' for that.
This quorum sensing is not only for bacteria, but for many other organisms as well.
Japanese ants change homes by counting numbers
Let's talk about the Japanese ant - whose scientific name is Myarmesina nippanika. If these ants realize that their colony has reached a certain number or quorum, they move to a new place and settle down.
There is also a number of calculations for the selection of that new place.
If these ants see that the new place is already inhabited by a certain number of ants, then they all agree that the new place is safe to live in.
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Japanese ants change homes by counting numbers
After that they started moving house with the whole group and the kids.
Knowledge of numbers is very important for any animal to know its path and look for food in turn.
How do bees know the way?
Two biologists - Mary Deck and Mandium Srinivasan - conducted an excellent experiment with bees in 2006.
They saw that if food was found somewhere, what signs could be found to get there - the number of bees could understand. Even if they change the location of these signs, they can still recognize the path.
Bees rely on various landmarks or pathways to measure the distance from their habitat to the source of food.
This calculation is very important for their survival.
Sweet rats prefer live ants as food.
But ants bite when attacked, so they are quite dangerous as prey. It has been observed that if these rats are presented in front of two groups of ants, then they are attacking the group which has a relatively small number of ants.
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Predators can count the number of their prey or opponents
According to a survey, rats have the ability to pick 5 vs 15s, 5 vs 30s, and 10 vs 30s, with ants having the least number.
Scientists say that the rats are choosing the smallest group of ants in this way, so that it is convenient to hunt, and the chances of being bitten are greatly reduced.
The predators calculate the prey
The sense of numbers is also very important in the case of animals that hunt in groups.
Let's say wolves. They often prey on large animals - such as elk or bison buffalo. They have the power to kill a wolf by kicking or punching or kicking.
For that reason, the number of wolf members varies according to when an animal is being hunted.
In order to succeed in hunting an elk, there must be two to six 'members' in the wolf's herd.
On the other hand, to successfully hunt a bison, you need a group of 9 to 13 wolves.
This means that wolves need to understand this number in order to succeed in hunting.
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A flock of lions. They also decide by guessing the number of potential enemies - whether to fight or not
On the other hand, how many animals there are in a group is also important in self-defense.
A team of biologists from the University of Washington conducted a study in Europe in 2005 on the behavior of sparrows called chickadees.
Indications of numbers in bird calls
There they see that when these birds see a potential 'enemy' like a kite or an owl, they warn other chikadis with a special kind of call.
Analyzing that call, scientists have seen - the number of times this call is being 'D-D-D' shows how dangerous a potential enemy is.
For example, if the bird is called 'chic-a-d-d', it means that the potential enemy is not so dangerous - maybe a gray owl. They are quite large and slow in size - so do not cope with small and fast chikadi.
But if a fast-paced pygmy owl is seen nearby, the chikadis are called 'chic-a-d-d-d-d', which means the number of 'd' sounds increases - which is a warning of serious danger.
If an animal cannot protect its food source or roaming area alone, it is very important that it has a team and how many of that group it has.
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There are hints of numbers in the call of the chickadee
If that team has to deal with an opponent, then the guess of how big the opposing team is is also important for survival.
Scientists have experimented with a number of mammals to determine the outcome of a war, often determined by numbers.
Karen McComb, a zoologist at the University of Sussex, and her colleagues have studied the behavior of lions at Serengeti National Park in South Africa, where when they hear the roar of another lion outside their group from their hidden speakers, they aggressively run where the sound comes from.
But when three lions roar at the same time, they show less aggression.
But when there are five or more lions in their group, they run back to where the sound of the three lions came from.
This means that they are deciding whether to counter-attack based on the number of infiltrators.
Military strategist
Chimpanzees are the closest relatives of humans in the animal kingdom.
Michael Wilson of Harvard University conducted a similar study on them.
He observed that when chimpanzees were being called by other chimpanzees, they, like a military strategist, were making decisions based on the strength of their opponents compared to their own team.
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Chimpanzees are the closest relatives of humans in the animal kingdom
As it turns out, chimpanzees are only interested in fighting if they think they have at least one and a half times more members than their opponents.
Because their survival is so important from a biological point of view, and their goal is to pass on their genes to the next generation.
Among the beetles called Tenbrio molitor, the male insect is seen having sex with as many females as possible, and the competition for this is intense.
After mating, the male insect also guards the female for some time - so that she cannot mate with anyone else. The more the male insect encounters rivals before mating, the longer he guards the female after mating.
This behavior plays an important role in reproduction, and even here the male beetle is counting the number of its rivals.
Sperm competition
Because, the reason behind this is not only the urge to succeed in having sex - but the real reward here is, whose sperm is fertilizing the ovum of the female animal.
This competition of sperm is seen to be manifested through different behaviors in different animals.
Some birds resort to a variety of techniques to avoid the arduous task of laying eggs and raising young.
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In this scorpion, a male scorpion is seen having sex with more than one female scorpion
They go to other birds' nests and lay their own eggs in their eggs.
This is how the American coot lays its eggs.
But scientists studying them have found that other neighboring birds lay their eggs - so that they can be caught when they lay American cocooned eggs in their homes.
Intelligent cowbird
Another species of bird, the cowbird, does the same.
But they have to do a lot of calculations to make sure that they don't get caught and that the baby hatches successfully from the egg.
Researchers have found that this is why they keep an eye on many of the neighboring bird nests - when they are laying eggs.
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The way the cowbird calculates the number of days it lays in another bird's nest is almost unbelievable
Then he calculates the time, realizes the opportunity, lays his own eggs in their home, as if their eggs hatch along with the chicks of other birds.
If this is done wrong, the egg will be caught and it will definitely be destroyed.
And if it's too late, the host bird's egg laying time will be over - before the cowbird's eggs hatch.
This means that in order to successfully hatch your own eggs with another, a cowbird has to do a complex calculation of everything from the day to the number of eggs.
Mafia-tendencies are also seen in cowboys.