Animal behavior. Dolphins whistle a signature tune.
Dolphins are remarkably intelligent creatures renowned for their ability to imitate manmade sounds and for producing individual signature whistles that enable them to recognize each other. Now, in his Perspective, Tyack discusses new findings showing that vocal imitation is important for communication among bottlenose dolphins in the wild (Janik). Apparently, bottlenose dolphins, when they are separated in the wild, address each other by matching each other's whistles.
Tyack
P L
PL
Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. ptyack@whoi.edu
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000502:physiology; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D004289:Dolphins / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007360:Intelligence; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D014828:Vocalization, Animal