this ppt slide consists of the definition of orientation, types of taxis. these slides help students to understand taxis' behavior in an easy way.

1. Animal behavior
orientation/taxes
Dambar Singh Khatri

2. Orientation
• Definition: Orientation is a response in which an organism takes up a
particular position in relation to a stimulus.
• It is simply the ability to face the right direction.
• Movement to particular direction is orientation.
• It consists of taxis and kinesis.
• Taxis is directional movement.
• Kinesis is unidirectional movement.

3. Taxes
• Taxes is define as the movement or orientation of organism in response to external stimulus.
• A taxes is the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus such as light or the
presence of food. Taxes are innate behavioral responses.
• A taxis differs from a tropism (turning response, often growth towards or away from a
stimulus) in that the organism has motility and demonstrates guided movement towards or
away from the stimulus source.
• It is sometimes distinguished from a kinesis, a non-directional change in activity in response
to a stimulus.
• Taxes may be positive, when orientation of organism is towards the source of stimulus or
negative when the orientation of organism is away from the source of stimulus.

4. • Thermotaxis: It is the moment of organism in response to the temperature, e.g. earthworm.
• Phototaxis: It is the moment of organism in response to the. For example, the cockroach and
earthworm go away from the light. The euglena move towards light. There is of two kind taxis,
i.e. positive and negative phototaxis.
• Geotaxis: It is the moment of organism in response to the gravity is called geotaxis. Earthworm
moves deep into the soil.
• Rheotaxis: It is the moment of organism in response to the water current. Movement of fishes
towards the current of water.
• Chemotaxis: It is the moment of organism in response to the chemicals. The mosquitos fly
away from the burning coil or chemical liquid.

5. Pattern of behavior in relation to stimulus
• Klinotaxis- scattered sensory organ
• Tropotaxis – paired sensory organ, equally stimulated
• Telotaxis – paired sensory organ, but not equally stimulated
• Menotaxis – light compass response
• Mnemotaxis – land marks, pheromone, light

6. Pattern of behavior in relation to stimulus
• Klinotaxis: The turning movement of organism due to stimulus
• In some organism the receptor cells are distributed on body surface, mostly on dorsal surface of anterior part.
• They try to orient their body by bending first on one direction and then other which continues until the receptor of two
sides is equally stimulated. For e.g. fly maggot larva.
• Tropotaxis: it is a directional movement.
• The organism possess paired receptors.
• When receives stimulus from more than one sources, compares by its paired receptors.
• After that it moves itself towards or away from that source.
• For eg, ants attract toward one source of food if there are present two sources by their sense organ. They attract towards
that source by which they stimulated more.

7. • Telotaxis: Organism orient themselves towards only one stimulus if there is equal
intensities of source.
• For eg, Hermit crab. It posses a pair of eyes. It can see light from one eye and other
eye see dark. So it do not compare light source from both eyes and orient itself
towards light. Same type of example is seen in honey bees. Honey bee always attract
towards light if one eye becomes blind. But in case of tropotaxis, if one eye become
blind, it cannot orient itself towards light due to failure of equal stimulation of
paired eyes. So it moves in circle.
• So the meaning of tropotaxis is the orientation of animal to any one of stimulus, if two equal
sources of stimulus of same intensities generate or operate at the same time.

8. • Menotaxis: light compass response.
• It involves orientation at a specific angle towards the direction of source of
stimulation.
• Eg, honey bees and ants. They are guided by sunlight to return their nest.
• Mnemotaxis: use of landmarks.
• For eg, hunting wasp. It use the light, land marks, trial of left chemicals to
return into the nest.

9. Thank you