title: Switching strategies: a dolphin's use of passive and active acoustics to imitate motor actions.
abstract: Scientists have long debated the extent to which animals can imitate. Observations of bottlenose dolphins suggest a sophisticated capacity for social imitation, but little is known about the nature of these abilities. Here, we explore the behavioral mechanisms underlying a dolphin's ability to copy motor actions while blindfolded (i.e., wearing eyecups). When a dolphin was asked to imitate a dolphin, a human, and then another dolphin blindfolded, his accuracy remained relatively consistent across models. However, his blindfolded echolocation dramatically increased when copying a human as compared to other dolphins, suggesting he actively switched between strategies: recognizing behaviors via characteristic sounds when possible, but via echolocation for the more novel sounding behaviors of the human. Such flexibility in changing perceptual routes demonstrates that the dolphin's imitation was not automatically elicited, but rather results from an intentional, problem-solving approach to imitation.
authors: Dolphin Research Center, 58901 Overseas Highway, Grassy Key, FL 33050, USA. kelly@dolphins.org
authors: Kelly
authors: K
authors: Jaakkola
authors: Emily
authors: E
authors: Guarino
authors: Mandy
authors: M
authors: Rodriguez
authors: Jane
authors: J
authors: Hecksher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000523:psychology*; D004455:Echolocation; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D014828:Vocalization, Animal