The analysis of olfactory communication among animals.

Methods are presented for determining those parameters of olfactory communication systems most closely related to the diffusion process. Four general cases of diffusion are considered: instantaneous release of the communicating substance in still air, continuous release in still air, continuous release from a moving source as in an odor trail, and continuous release in a wind. The techniques have been applied in the analysis of three real communication systems, involving an alarm substance, a recruitment trail, and a sex attractant respectively. It has been possible to demonstrate the effect of differing values of the parameters in fulfilling the design requirements of a particular system with respect to range of the signal, its rate of spread, and its persistence.