Dolphins May Eavesdrop on Each Other, Study Suggests
Anna Petherick
National Geographic News
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Synchronized swimming in tight formations might help wild dolphins listen in on one another's mapping and foraging, according to a recent study.
Thomas Götz, a marine biologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, reached that conclusion after analyzing the sounds made by dolphins swimming near the island of Gomera in the Canary Islands.
By dragging a recording device behind a boat, Götz captured the echolocation signals of several small groups of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis). Like all dolphins, these marine mammals gather information about their environment by emitting high-pitched sounds, or clicks, and analyzing the returning echoes.
Götz's recodrings showed that when the dolphins swam in loose, scattered formations, several individuals produced echolocation signals. But 80 percent of the samples from groups moving in close, synchronous clusters contained the clicks of just one animal.
The findings led Götz to suggest that wild dolphins can tune in on each other's signals and use the information to navigate as a group.
Jan 18, 2006
Anna Petherick
National Geographic News
____________________
Synchronized swimming in tight formations might help wild dolphins listen in on one another's mapping and foraging, according to a recent study.
Thomas Götz, a marine biologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, reached that conclusion after analyzing the sounds made by dolphins swimming near the island of Gomera in the Canary Islands.
By dragging a recording device behind a boat, Götz captured the echolocation signals of several small groups of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis). Like all dolphins, these marine mammals gather information about their environment by emitting high-pitched sounds, or clicks, and analyzing the returning echoes.
Götz's recodrings showed that when the dolphins swam in loose, scattered formations, several individuals produced echolocation signals. But 80 percent of the samples from groups moving in close, synchronous clusters contained the clicks of just one animal.
The findings led Götz to suggest that wild dolphins can tune in on each other's signals and use the information to navigate as a group.
Jan 18, 2006
