process and analyse information from secondary sources to describe and analyse the use of colour for communication in animals and relate this to the occurrence of colour vision in animals
Background
Many animals use colour to communicate a variety of types of information. The effectiveness of this communication depends on the animals that they are sending this information to, having colour vision to detect it. Fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds have well-developed colour vision, but humans and other primates are among the minority of mammals that can see colour.
Animals may use colour to signal their availability to mate, to indicate their suitability as a potential parent, to hide from predators or to warn of their unpalatability as prey. Some species mimic other unpalatable or poisonous species by using colour.
Human have 10,000 cones per square millimetre compared to some birds that have up to 120,000 per square millimetre. Birds who feed in the daylight see colours very clearly, for example hummingbirds can spot red flowers from over a kilometre away.