Hatrack River Forum: Dolphin Names

This is topic Dolphin Names in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Sndrake pointed out to me that I was remiss in not having linked to this story.

Don't worry Stephen! The universe is once again a predictable place! [Smile]

Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :

Flipper. Fa. Dan Marino.

Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :

quote:
Don't worry Stephen! The universe is once again a predictable place!

I'll have to take your word for it. Too much rain and too many clouds for me to verify which side of the sky the sun would have been in this morning.

Probably won't have to wait too long to see what the Republicans do in terms of tax cuts for the rich, though. [Wink]

(I'll try to email you back by tomorrow)

And thanks for all the fish! [Wave]

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

[Smile]

Don't worry about it too much--I look forward to reading it when you get a chance to write it, but I can certainly relate to being too busy to get an email message out as quickly as I'd like.

Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :

I read about this in a BBC article.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Yeah, it was released a couple of days ago, and pretty much every decent science reporting site is carrying the story. I just linked to New Scientist's article because it's generally the first one I hit every day.

I understand that the most common female dolphin name actually translates to "Jennifer".

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

quote:
Dolphin Names

Gamecube?

Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :

quote:
Three of the animals showed no preference and two turned more frequently toward the synthetic signature whistle of their non-relatives.

So two out of fourteen dolphins don't get along with their relatives?

Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :

Sounds about average for Hatrack, then. [Big Grin]

Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :

There was more information in the story National Geographic did on this.

For one thing, it appears to contradict an earlier study:

quote:
In 2001 Brenda McCowan of the University of California, Davis, and Diana Reiss of the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn published a study suggesting that bottlenose dolphins don't use individual names but rather a shared contact call.

Their research was based on captive dolphins, which, Janik says, wouldn't have the same difficulties wild dolphins have with staying in touch.

"They don't live in the kind of complex environment that wild dolphins inhabit," he said. "They are in relatively small environs, in very clear water, and can see each other all the time."

This would appear to be obvious. Other relevant inormation (IMO) would include how many of the captive dolphins in the earlier study were raised in captivity -- it would seem to be an important factor in studying any complex behavior of any highly social animal. Dolphins raised in captivity wouldn't be expected share all of the behaviors of dolphins living in naturual and unrestricted settings.

Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :

Animal communication is primed to have lots of cool discoveries in the near future.

There have been numerous studies in primates concerning warning behavior. They can warn about particular threats (leopards v. snakes v. eagles). They're pretty sure it's not automatic reaction because:

1.) They won't warn if there is nobody not in a safe position.
2.) They won't warn if the other primates nearby can see the threat themselves.
3.) (this one was the most interesting) they won't warn individuals they don't like of danger.
4.) Some will make a fake call that will get primates to respond by leaving a choice location, which they will then occupy or to break up a fight.
5.) The language is different for different groups.

Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :

quote:
two turned more frequently toward the synthetic signature whistle of their non-relatives.

I wonder, were those two teenagers?

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Dagonee:
Animal communication is primed to have lots of cool discoveries in the near future.

There have been numerous studies in primates concerning warning behavior. They can warn about particular threats (leopards v. snakes v. eagles). They're pretty sure it's not automatic reaction because:

1.) They won't warn if there is nobody not in a safe position.
2.) They won't warn if the other primates nearby can see the threat themselves.
3.) (this one was the most interesting) they won't warn individuals they don't like of danger.
4.) Some will make a fake call that will get primates to respond by leaving a choice location, which they will then occupy or to break up a fight.
5.) The language is different for different groups.

Was this with vervet monkies, by any chance?

Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :

I'm combining vervet monkeys from "The Third Chimpanzee" and captive chimps in a documentary I saw on Discovery Channel.

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

[Laugh]

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Interesting, Dag. The specific list of predators was what made me think vervets.