structural:scholar_edition, linguistic:voice_change
Interspecies

Interspecies communication plays a key role for plants that depend on external agents for reproduction. For example, flowers need insects for pollination and provide resources like nectar and other rewards in return. They use communication to signal their benefits and attract visitors by using distinctive colors and symmetrical shapes to stand out from their surroundings. This form of advertisement is necessary since flowers compete with each other for visitors. Many fruit-bearing plants rely on plant-to-animal communication to disperse their seeds and move them to a favorable location. This happens by providing nutritious fruits to animals. The seeds are eaten together with the fruit and are later excreted at a different location. Communication makes animals aware of where the fruits are and whether they are ripe. For many fruits, this happens through their color: they have an inconspicuous green color until they ripen and take on a new color that stands in visual contrast to the environment. Another example of interspecies communication is found in the ant-plant relation. It concerns, for instance, the selection of seeds by ants for their ant gardens and the pruning of exogenous vegetation as well as plant protection by ants.