Dolphins use the unique frequency patterns of their characteristic whistles to convey their identity. And there is a hidden “signature”.
Highly social animals often have more complex communication systems. Think of a group of chimpanzees that gesture and vocalize to each other, or a family of elephants that communicates through touch or low frequency calls.
Roaz dolphins live in complex societies where each animal has a small number of individuals closely linked together and more “loose” contacts (not unlike our own social networks). They depend strongly on interpersonal interactions to maintain a good social balance.
Scientists have long known that dolphins use “characteristic whistles” to identify themselves before others. In our recent, scientists present evidence that suggests that these whistles They may contain more information than just identity.
Unique but variable sound
Dolphins use various sounds to communicate, such as explosion impulses and whistles. There are two large categories of whistles: the signing whistles (distinct whistle types that are exclusive to each individual) and the unlavings (the rest).
Dolphins use unique frequency patterns of your characteristic whistles to convey your identity. They develop these signs when they are young and keep them through their lives.
When interacting with others, up to 30% of a dolphin whistle can be composed of its characteristic whistle. There is often some variation in the whistle versions produced by each animal. This led us to analyze the balance between stability and variability of characteristic whistles to test whether more information can contain more information than just the identity of the whistle.
Hear the whistles
In 2017 and 2018, the investigation team made repeated sound recordings of a group of Raaz dolphins from Indo-Pacific(Tursiops aduncus) In the Tangalooma Island Resort, near the Moretoon Island, off the coast of Brisbane, eastern Australia.
Scientists have collected many instances of characteristic whistles produced by the same animals. They also used historical data collected from the same group 15 years earlier.
Found that although the whistles were andXCenacionally stable in their frequency patterns, they varied a little (This variability has also remained similar over the years). This suggests that while the frequency patterns of subscription coding coding identity, they are likely to transmit more information, such as emotional or contextual clues.
The animal study group was too small to draw definitive conclusions, but the results indicated that males show more variability in their characteristic whistles than females. This may be related to differences in their social roles and the nature of their interactions with others.
They also identified a whistle very similar to a signature, but it was shared by several individuals. This supports recent ones that suggest that dolphin groups may have shared distinct whistles along with their individual whistles.
“Listened” faces
What does all this mean? Firstly, it is likely that characteristic whistles will be more versatile than previously thought. They may contain additional information on their frequency standards and possibly other structural elements.
The second lesson is that although the signature whistles are “labels” learned individually that they are like human names in many respects, in terms of the information they transmit, A useful analogy may be human faces.
Human beings carry identity information in their fixed facial features. At the same time, we transmit a lot of additional information, including emotional and contextual clues, through more transient facial expressions. Like the signature whistles, our faces combine stability and variability in your “information package”.
Unfounded world
Understanding dolphin communication helps us better understand the challenges these animals face. Example is noise pollution in the oceans. It is one among marine bioacoustic researchers, but it is rarely in the mind of the general public.
If we think about it, it is probably human terms. Living in a noisy environment can be annoying and stressful to us, but we can continue to do most of the things we need to do.
But for the dolphins, the Boy deafening noise would be equivalent to the fact that the whole world is blurred to us. Imagine what it would be like to sail for life, make friends, move away from bad links and be socially effective (which is necessary for survival), if you can’t recognize anyone’s face or see your expressions.
Thinking about the main sign of dolphins, a characteristic whistle, as an informational equivalent of our faces, can help us see (and hear) the world of a dolphin perspective.
