Commercial fishing can be a risky business, but not when you have the right members on your team! In some locations, fishermen are getting help from self-trained Bottlenose Dolphins! This is a winning outcome for the dolphins as well as for the fishermen that are reaping such rewards. What is really interesting in this study in Brazil is that the dolphins were never formally trained for such an outcome.

What has occurred is that the dolphins are successful with getting the fish into a central location. Then they send out signals to the fishermen that inform them where they should drop their nets to catch the fish. It is very evident the social and cooperation skills of these dolphins are extremely well developed.

Additional research on these dolphins also shows they are extremely social and cooperative within the group. This is based on information that has been published in the Royal Society Biology Letters if you are interested in finding out more. It is believed that these factors help to explain why some of the dolphins in the wild do help humans and other don’t take part in it.

The behaviors are well synchronized and fishermen have been able to rely on those signals. They often include tail or head slaps in the water in given locations. The fishermen are able to quickly put their nets in the right place. This allows them to get the fish instead of guessing where to put the nets and hoping for the best. Such information has been observed and documented by Fabio Daura-Jorge of the Federal University of Santa Catarina.

Along with several colleagues, he has been able to see the outcome of such experiences. So what is in it for the dolphins? They get to dine on the fish that find their way out of the nets. They are patient and wait for that moment to arrive. Such observations were noted by Daura-Jorge and his team through boating surveys that took place over the course of a 2 year period.

They used photos to identify the dolphins. This allowed them to classify the groups as cooperative or non-cooperative based on their interactions or lack of interactions with the fishermen. The use of computer modeling allowed for the social relationships among the dolphins to be successfully identified.

What was found is that those dolphins that were cooperative spent far more time with each other, even when they weren’t participating in activities that helped the fishermen. It is believed that there are many factors at work here that determine if a relationship will occur naturally between humans and dolphins. They include genetics, social learning, and ecology. 

It is believed that information transferred from one generation of the dolphins to the next is very important here. The older dolphins teach the younger ones to be able to successfully help the fishermen. There have been numerous documentations about such behaviors within groups of dolphins in various areas. One that is widely discussed is the process of sponging by the dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia. If you aren’t familiar with sponging, it is the process of these Bottlenose Dolphins tearing pieces of sponges and covering their snout with them while they forage for food. This protects them from damages to that part of the body. 

There are plenty of unique behaviors identified within dolphin groups, and their intelligence level is believed to be a big part of them. According to Lori Marino from Emory University, the size of the dolphin’s brain should be used to help measure their intelligence. She and many others believe the dolphin ranks #2 – right being humans.

Source: http://news.discovery.com/animals/helpful-dolphins-120502.html

Dolphins are considered to be one of the most social animals in the world. They live in groups that are very complex and defined. Studies also show that the members are highly defensive of each other due to the bonds they form within their groups. Dolphins may greet as a way to socialize, and to also set boundaries within their groups.

Through careful observations in their natural environment, it has been documented that the home ranges of various dolphin groups overlap those of others. For example, in Shark Bay Australia the Bottlenose Dolphins have been seen sharing parts of their habitat with other groups of the same species as well as other species of dolphins.

The males of the groups have more dominance and they are more complex when it comes to their role within the group. They don’t defend territories and they don’t patrol but they will defend the members of their group if they need to.

In the Western region of Australia, there is an open society of Bottlenose Dolphins that have been seen expressing a very open society. They don’t have defined boundaries like other animals or humans do. What is also identified is that the relationships they form are very strong and intense.

In a book written by Richard Connor along with another author, they discuss the fact that most mammals that have such complex social interactions and relationships are found to live in semi closed groups with at least one female that is capable of reproducing offspring. Such females will be widely defended by other members of the group.

Connor is also a Biology Professor at UMass Dartmouth and has also stated “an open society is one without such defended boundaries.” His studies include studying the behavior of 120 adult dolphins at Shark Bay, Western Australia. Also on this team were Michael Krutzen, Srdan Randic, and William Sherwin.

What they learned is that the male Bottlenose Dolphins were engaging in pairing up with females or with another male. Sometimes, there would be a third member of the male group and it is believed this allowed them to herd females to a given location to increase the opportunities for mating.

The observations also indicated that the males were often members of a secondary alliance that could have as few as four or as many as fourteen members. One of the groups is known to be active with seven members for at least the past seventeen years.

All of this initial led the research team to think that the dolphins were living a hierarchy and social element similar to that of chimpanzees. This is due to the strong male bonding that takes place. However, the main difference is that chimpanzees are also very defensive of their territory and they patrol it on a regular basis while the dolphins don’t engage in such behaviors.

Dolphins are generally very gentle and they enjoy socializing and showing care towards each other. They are considered to be one of the most peaceful animals in the world, but they can be aggressive when necessary. There are very few noted events though where aggressive behaviors occur between two female dolphins according to the findings of Connor and his team.

While males can be more aggressive towards each other, they don’t seem to engage in such behavior on an ongoing basis. There can be plenty of drama though in the dynamics of the male dolphins of any group though. Watching the complexities of these relationships has been very interesting and some great insight to how dolphins greet and how they live a life different from many other mammals in terms of social interactions.

Source: http://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphins-greet-each-other-120228.html