Dr. Laela Sayigh of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (click here) has conducted extensive research into the intelligence of the Free Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins most of her career.
This is a small sample of her work and reflects none of her mentoring of her graduate students. She has stated the signature whistles of Bottlenose dolphins change after having contact with humans. She has a library of signature whistles from her acoustic research which demands the least contact requirements with this species. At the time when they have contact with her research team, she has known specimens of the change in their whistles.
No research reveals the reason why, but, it might be the whistles of these mammals including the complicated singing of Humpback Whales are sophisticated ways of talking about their oceans to enhance their survival. We just don't know and I am not sure we need to know as it would be exploited and possibly lead to their extinction by others with different agendas for the biotic life on Earth.
Jones, G., and L. Sayigh. 2002. Geographic variation in rates of vocal production of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins. Marine Mammal Science. 18: 374-393.
Sayigh, L. S. 2002. Signature whistles. In Encyclopedia of marine mammals, ed. B. Wursig and W. Perrin. Academic Press: San Diego, pp. 1081-1083.
Allen, M., A. Read, J. Gaudet, and L. Sayigh. 2001. Fine scale habitat selection of foraging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) near Clearwater, Florida. Marine Ecology Progress Series 222: 253-264.
Sayigh, L. S., P. L. Tyack, R. S. Wells, A. Solow, M. Scott, and A. B. Irvine. 1999. Individual recognition in wild bottlenose dolphins: a field test using playback experiments. Animal Behavior 57:41-50.
Tyack, P. L. and L. S. Sayigh. 1997. Vocal learning in cetaceans. In Social Influences on Vocal Development, ed. C. Snowdon and M. Hausberger, pp.208-233. Cambridge University Press.
Marine Mammals have larger brains PER BODY MASS than humans. That includes whales. They are very intelligent, gregarious survivors in very large bathtubs around the globe. That is not a minor accomplishment deserving recognition as reason for their endangered protections.
Prior to the new study, published online in the journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B,” much of what had been known about dolphin memory was anecdotal. This recorded feat of long-term memory puts dolphins in the same field as other highly intelligent creatures, including some monkeys and elephants, both of which have been known to recognize unrelated members of their species after time apart.
University of Chicago scientist Jason Bruck studied 56 bottlenose dolphins that were moved between six different institutions — including Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, the Minnesota Zoo and an aquarium at Disney World in Orlando — over a period of 20 years. They were typically transferred for breed, ing purposes, which somewhat mimicked the shifts among pods of dolphins in the wild.
That approach gave Bruck a record of the animals’ social histories, which would be nearly impossible to collect for wild dolphins. The dolphins studied were separated for as long as 20 years...
This is a small sample of her work and reflects none of her mentoring of her graduate students. She has stated the signature whistles of Bottlenose dolphins change after having contact with humans. She has a library of signature whistles from her acoustic research which demands the least contact requirements with this species. At the time when they have contact with her research team, she has known specimens of the change in their whistles.
No research reveals the reason why, but, it might be the whistles of these mammals including the complicated singing of Humpback Whales are sophisticated ways of talking about their oceans to enhance their survival. We just don't know and I am not sure we need to know as it would be exploited and possibly lead to their extinction by others with different agendas for the biotic life on Earth.
Jones, G., and L. Sayigh. 2002. Geographic variation in rates of vocal production of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins. Marine Mammal Science. 18: 374-393.
Sayigh, L. S. 2002. Signature whistles. In Encyclopedia of marine mammals, ed. B. Wursig and W. Perrin. Academic Press: San Diego, pp. 1081-1083.
Allen, M., A. Read, J. Gaudet, and L. Sayigh. 2001. Fine scale habitat selection of foraging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) near Clearwater, Florida. Marine Ecology Progress Series 222: 253-264.
Sayigh, L. S., P. L. Tyack, R. S. Wells, A. Solow, M. Scott, and A. B. Irvine. 1999. Individual recognition in wild bottlenose dolphins: a field test using playback experiments. Animal Behavior 57:41-50.
Tyack, P. L. and L. S. Sayigh. 1997. Vocal learning in cetaceans. In Social Influences on Vocal Development, ed. C. Snowdon and M. Hausberger, pp.208-233. Cambridge University Press.
Marine Mammals have larger brains PER BODY MASS than humans. That includes whales. They are very intelligent, gregarious survivors in very large bathtubs around the globe. That is not a minor accomplishment deserving recognition as reason for their endangered protections.
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...“The main implications of such findings (click here) is that humans are not the only mammals that retain memories of others for long periods,” said SUNY-Buffalo psychologist Eduardo Mercado III, who was not involved in the research.Prior to the new study, published online in the journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B,” much of what had been known about dolphin memory was anecdotal. This recorded feat of long-term memory puts dolphins in the same field as other highly intelligent creatures, including some monkeys and elephants, both of which have been known to recognize unrelated members of their species after time apart.
University of Chicago scientist Jason Bruck studied 56 bottlenose dolphins that were moved between six different institutions — including Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, the Minnesota Zoo and an aquarium at Disney World in Orlando — over a period of 20 years. They were typically transferred for breed, ing purposes, which somewhat mimicked the shifts among pods of dolphins in the wild.
That approach gave Bruck a record of the animals’ social histories, which would be nearly impossible to collect for wild dolphins. The dolphins studied were separated for as long as 20 years...
