Dolphins are highly sociable mammals that establish close links with other individuals of the same species and even with dolphins of other species sometimes. They seem to show empathic, cooperative, and altruistic behaviors.

Most species live in groups called pods composed of 2 to 30 dolphins as the number varies, but in some areas with abundant food, many pods can merge forming superpods with more than 1,000 members.

Dolphins depend on this interaction for hunting, mating and defending themselves. In some cases, these superpods include more than one species of cetaceans that seem to interact well together.

PODS, THE REASON

Why do dolphins group? They have several reasons to join, besides following a sample learned since they born. Small dolphin species gather into multi-member pods as a way to compensate for their size when facing predators.

In this sense, these groups provide protection to an animal that does not have large jaws or razor sharp teeth. When Dolphins are together, it is easier for them to survive if they cooperate with each other, either through communication or intimidating the predator if it is a large number of individuals.

DYNAMIC OF THEIR SOCIAL STRUCTURES

It seems that dolphins are free spirits. Studying the dynamic of the social composition of the pods, scientists discovered that when dolphins belong to a group, nothing binds them to it in a matter of space and time, this means that they can move freely to different pods that are in their vicinity, then the movement of members is continuous.

This type of social network is flat and open, and scientists found no evidence of a rigid, closed or semi-closed structure, so dolphins do not have permanent “membership” in any pod.

These open associations are another indication of their high intelligence since these actions require a lot of brain capacity. Likewise, the hydrodynamic shape of their body supports the need to move continuously between several groups of different environments.

Even though pods do not lack social hierarchy, this depends on the species. For example, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) establish dominance biting, chasing and striking their tails or fins against the surface of the water. The marks of teeth remain in the skin of the dolphins and are practically in all the species meaning that confrontations are also part of their life. That is why, when they want to demonstrate “who rules here,” they may not be so charming as usual but more aggressive than we think.

On the other hand, the composition and structure of the groups depend on certain circumstances: age, sex, family ties, reproductive condition and even the history of associations. Studies on the behavior of dolphins indicate that dolphins can have preferences for meeting with particular individuals and that they can be remembered and recognized after experiencing extended periods of separation. Amazing, right?

Dolphin social structure.

TYPES OF PODS

The characteristics of the groups differ according to the number of members and the circumstances mentioned above. Dolphins do not behave the same when they change from one pod to another.

There are three types of pods:

Nursery groups (mothers-offspring).
A calf stays with its mother from birth up to a few years after weaning. Usually, the mother’s bond with her son is very close and continues until the young dolphin is 6 or 8 years old. Since offspring are vulnerable, the females with calves join and form groups where they help each other to feed and protect their offspring. If a young female gets pregnant, she can return to her natal pod to give birth and care for her calf along with her female relatives, forming a multigenerational group.

The males usually do not get close to these groups.

Juvenile pods.
When reaching a certain age, both males and females leave their breeding group and join with other young dolphins, but curiously, they go to the group of their mothers occasionally for a while and then return to their youth group.

Two male dolphins can stay together for 10, 15 or 20 consecutive years.

The members of these groups are engaged in socializing with others and establishing a preamble to mating. Genres, however, are not intimately related for extended periods of time and once a female becomes pregnant, she joins the nursery group.

Adult males.
The structure of the male pods is very complex and similar to a human male group, you will see why.

Often males are related to 2 or 3 individuals of the same gender and create partnerships for cooperation purposes. Two male dolphins can stay together for 10, 15 or 20 consecutive years. The smaller groups have the objective of cooperating to ensure the mating of the others with a specific female. The larger groups make alliances with other herds of males to defend themselves but also to compete. They continue moving from pod to pod throughout their lives.

INTERNAL SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Males are dominant in all groups, but there is no evidence of strong social bonds between them and females. An example of social interaction and their high intelligence is the regular playing activities they perform. Juvenile and adult dolphins often chase each other and toss items such as seaweed back and forth.

Most experts believe that the social relationships formed by dolphins are long lasting.

Dolphins often have close body contact with other dolphins through rubbing, petting, and even hitting each other.

COMMUNICATION, THE GROUND FOR SOCIALIZATION.

Dolphins communicate with their pods usually through whistles. Each dolphin has a unique whistle that identifies it with other members of its group. If an individual is in distress, it uses a particular sound that indicates help is needed, so the pod responds quickly.

SOCIAL ACTIVITY BEYOND LIMITS.

Although it would be normal that dolphins socialize only with their kind, the interest of some species of dolphins to interact with humans is evident. In the wild, dolphins are extremely curious, and they will often engage in contact with people if a chance comes up. In captivity, dolphins are very attached to the people that usually interact with them, like trainers or researchers.

References

William F. Perrin, Bernd Würsig, J.G.M. ‘Hans’ Thewissen. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press, 2009.

Karen Pryor, Kenneth S. Norris. Dolphin Societies: Discoveries and Puzzles. University of California Press, 1998.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4757-9909-5_7#page-1

http://www.cbmwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Social-structure-of-bottlenose-dolphins-in-Cardigan-Bay-by-Cally-Barnes.pdf

]]> https://www.dolphins-world.com/learning-from-dolphins/ Thu, 27 Apr 2017 05:31:02 +0000 http://www.dolphins-world.com/?p=140 The human being may be sure that he is the most intelligent creature on Earth. His technological and scientific achievements have bestowed hundreds of benefits for humanity and can brag about the fascinating possibilities that the future can bring if it does not destroy himself. However, it is interesting how on many occasions, nonhuman beings have a couple of lessons to teach Homo sapiens.

Dolphins are often considered the second or third most intelligent animals after man. Research has yielded tons of information about its life, its social structure, and its development. Their sense of echolocation has fascinated scientists, who do not hesitate to study it to apply the same mechanism to technologies that facilitate human life and help to fulfill special purposes. But is this all that we can learn from dolphins?

Of course not. These amazing, intelligent mammals have some lessons to teach humans, lessons whose application represents a benefit in the personal and social life of man, now more concerned with the achievement of his work goals and individual recognition.

Close social bonds are better than a lonely life.
Dolphins maintain very close ties with their pod companions. They are highly sociable and do not hesitate to help each other. They are even able to remember many years after they last saw each other and aid to survive those who are sick. When humans imitate this behavior, it improves their mood, reduces stress and increases their chances of survival.

Dolphins are considered the second or third most intelligent animals after man.

Empathy is good.

Dolphins understand when a dolphin or a human being are vulnerable to some danger, and that is why they are believed to have come to the rescue. They do not just leave those who need help. Would not be wonderful if people always did the same? Empathy in humans, besides, allows the understanding of different ideas, tolerance, and respect.

Teamwork is power.

Most of these cetaceans cooperate to find food, care for the young and protect each other. Humans try most of the time exclusively their well-being, but working together with others, is a good way to increase everyone’s success and improve living conditions.

Creativity is important.

Dolphins have found ways to solve some difficulties, as many tests show: they use sponges to protect themselves from rough surfaces, mimic human movements and even communicate through a varied repertoire of sounds. If they can, anyone else can and not just the researchers.

Live without damaging the environment.

This aspect is perhaps the most important since our environment is degrading as people become unaware of their implications on Earth and their responsibilities in it. Dolphins live in an aquatic environment from which they use resources for their means, but do not cause damage. They use what they need.

LEARNING APPLIED TO TECHNOLOGY

The scientific and technological areas are the ones that have benefited most from all the information acquired from dolphins. Current trends focus on the application of echolocation both in technology and in people’s daily life for impaired people and in developing methods for protecting other species. It seems that too much is known, but the truth is that much remains to be discovered and to be learned yet, that is why scientists continue studying them.

EVEN MORE LEARNING FROM DOLPHINS

While dolphin research is still in its infancy, the wealth of information that we may one day glean from these magnificent creatures is unimaginable. One lesson that we can learn from them, however, could be a key to the survival of our civilization. In today’s hectic world, the dolphin community may just offer a few lessons that we should take the time to learn.

There’s a saying in our culture that suggests “it takes a village to raise a child.” In earlier times, our society often reflected this concept. Today, however, morals and values are almost nonexistent, and technology continues to contribute to the breakdown of our families, communities and our society as a whole. Dolphins, however, are cooperative and playful. Their communities or pods persist under dangerous conditions only because of the bonds and support the members offer to one another. In the world of the dolphin, members care for and protect each other. Dolphins are creatures of socialization just as we are.

As human beings, maybe it’s time that we take a look back at how we have evolved and consider instead returning to the way of the dolphin, rather than spreading farther and farther from each other, the answer to our problems is perhaps instead, to come closer. The pod concept that protects dolphins could very well be the ideal that could protect our families and our communities.

There is, in fact, a society that is seriously contemplating the concept of pod living. The Sirius Institute, in Hawaii, has developed a model human society based on pod living. According to their website, Sirius believes that the pod prototype can help us “restore our currently fragmented society,” living in a way that provides an environment where “humans can belong to something bigger than themselves and stand out for who they are and the contributions they make,” instead of what they possess.

The Sirius Pod model allows people to interact within their homes, neighborhoods and in some cases, worlds. The children living in this environment are raised together, very similar to the way dolphins raise their young. Sirius believes that their pod models are “islands of stability” where people can come together to grow and prosper.

While the Sirius model may seem a little vague and sounds very much like the lifestyle we already think we’re living, it would be a positive thing for each and every one of us to stop and consider what the important things are and why we’ve let them fall by the wayside.

If we can learn anything from dolphins, it could just very well be that we need to refocus our attention on how we’re living our lives and why.

Dolphins continue surviving against increasing odds. The intelligence level that these animals display and their ability to interact not only with their peer but to also in harmony with others is a lesson we should all learn.

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

Dolphins are famous among people because they are graceful and beautiful creatures. Their incredible performance while jumping in the ocean and their friendly face have made people like dolphins.

However, probably the most attractive feature that has made dolphins very appealing to humans is their intelligence which has no equal in the animal world.

Dolphins communicate through a language that includes sounds with different purposes, as humans do, as well as samples of behaviors related to pleasure, fun, teaching and social coexistence. That is why some have insisted on considering them “non-human people,” which gives them a little more “special” treatment.

A group of dolphins is called a pod.

A pod usually is formed of around 12 dolphins, and it is the usual social group of dolphins.

However, when a group of pods joins in places with an abundance of food, they can reach up to one thousand individuals forming a large group which is called a superpod.

Superpods are not for a long time, and they dissolve after a while.

Additionally, another way to call a group of dolphins is “school.”

Bottlenose dolphins are probably the species of dolphins more researched, and most of this investigation is oriented to measure and assess their intelligence.

Bottlenose dolphins are intelligent problem solvers, and they can solve simple tasks and perform successfully in intelligence tests. These dolphins are smart enough to use tools to get things done easier, like using sponges to avoid injuries.

The advanced communication capabilities of dolphins also denote their superior intelligence in the animal world.

Read more about Dolphin Intelligence