Trained motor imitation by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
Each of two bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, was trained to mimic a set of behaviors on command. They were tested on transfer of the mimic command to a set of familiar behaviors which they had not previously been commended to mimic. They were similarly tested on two novel behaviors. One dolphin demonstrated complete mimicry of 5 of 11 familiar behaviors; the other dolphin mimicked 1 of 9 behaviors. None of the mimicked behaviors was exhibited to an inappropriate model, suggesting that performance was not due to chance. Neither dolphin imitated the novel behaviors.
Bauer
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GB
Division of Social Sciences, New College of the University of South Florida, Sarasota 34243.
Johnson
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CM
D000818:Animals; D004289:Dolphins / Q000523:psychology*; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009048:Motor Skills; D014163:Transfer, Psychology