Entropy 2010, 12(1), 127-135; https://doi.org/10.3390/e12010127
Arguments for the Integration of the Non-Zero-Sum Logic of Complex Animal Communication with Information Theory
1
Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, C.S.I.C., Pabellón del Perú, Avda. María Luisa s/n, Seville 41092, Spain
2
Finnish Museum of Natural History, Zoological Museum, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Received: 27 September 2009 / Revised: 28 December 2009 / Accepted: 20 January 2010 / Published: 21 January 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Information Theory Applied to Animal Communication)
Abstract
The outstanding levels of knowledge attained today in the research on animal communication, and the new available technologies to study visual, vocal and chemical signalling, allow an ever increasing use of information theory as a sophisticated tool to improve our knowledge of the complexity of animal communication. Some considerations on the way information theory and intraspecific communication can be linked are presented here. Specifically, information theory may help us to explore interindividual variations in different environmental constraints and social scenarios, as well as the communicative features of social vs. solitary species. View Full-TextKeywords:
animal communication; communication noise; entropy; game theory; information theory; non-zero sum
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).