To
call a dolphin, just whistle a squeaky shout-out.
Bottlenose
dolphins answer to high-pitched bursts of sound — but each animal responds to
only one specific trill, its “signature whistle,” Stephanie King and Vincent
Janik of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland report June 22 in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
The signature whistle, a distinct tune each dolphin develops for itself and broadcasts to others, may act as a sort of audible nametag.
Scientists
knew dolphins exchanged signature whistles when meeting at sea, but no one knew
if the animals responded to these “names.” King and Janik recorded wild
dolphins’ chirps and squeaks and then played the signature whistles back for
the animals.
When
dolphins heard their own signature whistles, they whistled the tune back, the
pair found. Aside from humans, dolphins may be the only other mammals to name
individuals.
Citations
S.L.
King. Bottlenose dolphins can use learned vocal labels to address each other. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences. Published online July 22, 2013.
doi:10.1073/pnas.1304459110. [Go to]
Suggested Reading
M.
Rosen. Test decodes dolphins’ math skills. Science News. Vol. 182, August 25,
2012, p. 12. Available online: [Go to]