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.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
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".
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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.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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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.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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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?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I'm combining vervet monkeys from "The Third Chimpanzee" and captive chimps in a documentary I saw on Discovery Channel.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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