SpringerLink - Article

SpringerLink - Article: "Animal Cognition
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Heidelberg
ISSN: 1435-9448 (Paper) 1435-9456 (Online)
DOI: 10.1007/s10071-004-0225-z
Issue: Online First
Original Article
Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) calves appear to model their signature whistles on the signature whistles of community members

Deborah Fripp1, 6 Contact Information, Caryn Owen2, Ester Quintana-Rizzo3, Ari Shapiro4, Kara Buckstaff5, Kristine Jankowski2, Randall Wells2 and Peter Tyack4
(1) Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
(2) Sarasota Dolphin Research Project, Sarasota, Florida, USA
(3) College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
(4) Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
(5) Ocean Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA
(6) Present address: 3826 Cemetery Hill Rd, Carrollton, TX 75007, USA

Received: 19 May 2003 Revised: 3 March 2004 Accepted: 13 May 2004 Published online: 24 June 2004
Abstract Bottlenose dolphins are unusual among non-human mammals in their ability to learn new sounds. This study investigates the importance of vocal learning in the development of dolphin signature whistles and the influence of social interactions on that process. We used focal animal behavioral follows to observe six calves in Sarasota Bay, Fla., recording their social associations during their first summer, and their signature whistles during their second. The signature whistles of five calves were determined. Using dynamic time warping (DTW) of frequency contours, the calvesrsquo signature whistles were compared to the signature whistles of several sets of dolphins: their own associates, the other calvesrsquo associates, Tampa Bay dolphins, and captive dolphins. Whistles were considered similar if their DTW similarity score was greater than those of 95% of the whistle comparisons. Association was defined primarily in terms of time within 50 m of the mother/calf pair. On average, there were six dolphins with signature whistles similar to the signature whistles of each of the calves. These were significantly more likely to be Sarasota Bay resident dolphins than non-Sarasota dolphins, and (though not significantly) more likely to be dolphins that were within 50 m of the mother and calf less than 5% of the time. These results suggest that calves may model their signature whistles on the signature whistles of members of their community, possibly community members with whom they associate only rarely.

Keywords Bottlenose dolphin - Vocal learning - Whistle development - Social influences on learning"