Kinesis, like a taxis

Taxis

A taxis is an innate behavioral response by an organism to a directional stimulus or gradient of stimulus intensity. A taxis differs from a tropism in that the organism has motility and demonstrates guided movement towards or away from the stimulus source ...

, is a movement or activity of a cell or an organism in response to a stimulus

Stimulus (physiology)

In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity....

. However, unlike taxis, the response to the stimulus provided (such as gas exposure, light intensity

Light intensity

Several measures of light are commonly known as intensity. These are obtained by dividing either a power or a luminous flux by a solid angle, a planar area, or a combination of the two...

 or ambient temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

) is non-directional.

The two main types of kineses include:

Orthokinesis: in which the speed of movement of the individual is dependent upon the intensity of the stimulus. Take, for example, the locomotion

Animal locomotion

Animal locomotion, which is the act of self-propulsion by an animal, has many manifestations, including running, swimming, jumping and flying. Animals move for a variety of reasons, such as to find food, a mate, or a suitable microhabitat, and to escape predators...

 of a woodlouse in relation to temperature. With increased humidity there is an increase in the percentage time that the woodlouse will remain stationary.

Klinokinesis: in which the frequency or rate of turning is proportional to stimulus intensity.

Both orthokinesis and klinokineses result in aggregations. However, the stimulus does not act to attract or repel individuals.

The same prefixes used with "taxis" can be applied to kineses; see also -kinesis

-kinesis

-kinesis, from Greek "κίνησις", movement, motion, is a suffix that denotes movement. The word Kinesis itself similarly indicates movement, particularly in biology.-Cytokinesis:...

.

Kinesis is an animals non-directional response to a stimulus, for example humidity. The animal does not move toward or away the stimulus but moves at either a slow or fast rate depending on its "comfort zone."
In this case a fast movement(non random) means that the animal is searching for its comfort zone but a slow movement indicates that it has found it.

External links

• Host-plant finding by insects: orientation, sensory input and search patterns