Chemotaxis: The Goat's Taxic Response

The goat has taxic responses because it is an animal. Taxic response is the movement of a cell or a microorganism in response to external stimulus. Taxic response may be positive or negative. When an organism moves towards a stimulus it is called a positive taxis. When an organism moves away from a stimulus it is called a negative taxis. The goat has several taxic responses. For example positive chemotaxis, negative phonotaxis, and positive trophotaxis. Chemotaxis is the directional movement of an animal in response to a chemical. In this case, whenever a female goat would go into heat, she releases chemicals that attract other male goats to her for them to start reproducing. The male goats would go towards the female producing the chemicals
so this stimulus is called a positive taxis. Phonotaxis is the movement of an organism in response to sound. The goat is a common prey to many animals. In order to survive it must listen carefully to its surroundings. So if a loud sound is heard, the goat’s immediate response would be to run away from it. This is a very clear example of a negative taxis. Trophotaxis is the directional movement of an animal in response to food. Goats naturally will be very attracted to where food is located and so would move towards the food. This stimulus would be called a positive taxis.