BIOORIENTATION

BIOORIENTATION (from bio... and orientation), the ability of organisms to determine their location in space, to choose the optimal position in relation to the forces acting on it (environmental factors) and to determine the biologically expedient direction of movement. B.- one of the main. conditions of adaptation of organisms to the environment (adaptation), which can be carried out in three ways: by changing the state of the organism in accordance with changing conditions (morpho-physiol. adaptation); change of habitat (see Animal migrations, Animal migrations): by changing the situation by forming clusters (flocks, herds, etc.) or building shelters (burrows, nests, etc.). B. is based on the property of irritability and perception of appearance. effects of physical, chemical. and biol. nature. In higher invertebrates (arthropods, mollusks) and in vertebrates, perception, or reception, is external. the effects (signals) are carried out by special sensory organs, and their reactions often acquire the character of complex instincts underlying bionavigation. The choice of the direction of movement is carried out on the basis of the reception chemical., mechanical. (tactile), acoustic, electric. or optical stimuli (signals) and their location, i.e. determining the position in relation to the animal (see Biolocation). The operation of most of the location mechanisms is provided by a pair of sensory organs (vision, hearing, balance, etc.), which allows you to compare signals by comparing the strength, frequency response, and other parameters of signals received by the right and left sensory organs, and thus determine the direction of their source.