Imagine for a moment that the ocean is one big school cafeteria. Do you see this rather weird guy in the corner, finishing his dinner and muttering something displeased under his breath? This is Whale, the loneliest guy in school who needs friendship and a little peer attention. Meanwhile, in the very center of the dining room, schoolchildren are chatting carelessly. Dolphins, like all mammals, have their own rules. Not so long ago, scientists have found that they even have their own special way of communication, with the help of which they talk, solve their problems.
What sounds do dolphins make and recognize?
Dolphins recognize two kinds of sounds, according to the Dolphin Communication Project, a Florida-based research and conservation organization. The first is echoscopy, but it is not a form of communication, but rather a way to see the world through sound. The dolphin makes a sound and expects the same in return. Thus, with the help of the echo, he understands what is happening around him.
The second type is “burst of impulses”. This is a series of sounds that are emitted very quickly - about 2000 per second. These sounds are used by animals to communicate. Scientists observed dolphins that emitted impulses, and found that in this way they show interest in other individuals, in the game, and this also indicates the manifestation of aggression (a person hears such sounds as a continuous continuous screeching, but in fact it is a chain of separate sounds).
Entertaining experiments
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Now we know a little more about these impulses: how they manifest themselves, when they are used by dolphins. In the journal Animal Cognition, scientists published information about how and what sounds a group of 6 dolphins made during several experiments. During the study, they gave mammals a container that was filled with food. The dolphin had to open it on both sides with a rope (scientists noted that the animal could easily cope with the task alone, but it was interesting to watch how they work together and what they "say" at the same time).
Four dolphins were unable to complete the task and open the container, but the other two completed the task together in less than one minute. One of the two also managed to cope with this task on their own, but over a longer period of time.
During trials, the researchers found that dolphins were especially talkative when they worked together.
During one of the studies, when one dolphin opened the container without assistance, other mammals were present nearby and observed how he coped with the task. In these cases, no "chatter" was noticed between the dolphins. The team came to the conclusion that increased communication during the joint execution of the task was associated with the task itself, with the search for ways to solve it.
Conclusion
In other words, the researchers might not know exactly what the dolphins were saying, but they knew what they were talking about. “This is the first time we can say with certainty that the voices of dolphins were used to solve a joint problem,” said researcher Olli Eskelinen, lead author of the study.
Victoria Ivashura