<
https://theconversation.com/how-dolphins-communicate-new-discoveries-from-a-long-term-study-in-sarasota-florida-271276>
"Human fascination with bottlenose dolphins goes back thousands of years, at
least as early as Greek mythology.
But it wasn’t until the 1960s that methodical research into dolphin
communication began. Scientists like John Lilly and the husband-and-wife team
of Melba and David Caldwell tried various experiments to decipher the sounds
dolphins can make.
The Caldwells figured out a way to record isolated animals in human care. They
discovered that each individual dolphin communicated mostly with one unique
whistle, which they called the “signature whistle.” Researchers now know that
these whistles convey identities much like human names do. Dolphins use them to
stay in touch with each other in their murky habitat, where vision is limited.
It’s like announcing “I’m over here!” when someone can’t see you.
This discovery is foundational to my own research. I’ve been studying
communication in wild dolphins since the mid-1980s, when I joined my mentor
Peter Tyack in documenting signature whistles in wild dolphins for the first
time. Our team’s research focused on a resident community of free-ranging
bottlenose dolphins in waters near Sarasota, Florida, where I continue to work
today.
This collaborative study, led by Randall Wells of Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s
Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, involves numerous researchers from a variety
of institutions, who study different aspects of dolphin biology, health,
ecology and behavior. Begun in 1970, this is the longest-running research
project on a population of wild cetaceans – whales, dolphins and porpoises – in
the world."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
