Spontaneous vocal mimicry and production by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): Evidence for vocal learning.

Abstract

Two female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and their 2 male offspring were presented with an underwater keyboard to observe how the dolphins would use such a system to obtain specific objects and activities. When a dolphin pressed visual forms on the keyboard, whistles were generated underwater, and the dolphin was given a specific object or activity. Both vocal and nonvocal behaviors were recorded. Only the males used the keyboard. In the 1st year spontaneous vocal mimicry and productive use of facsimiles of the computer-generated whistles were recorded. In the 2nd year productive use increased significantly over mimicry, and apparent combinations of discreet whistle facsimiles in behaviorally appropriate contexts were observed. The patterns of vocal mimicry and production suggest a new model for analyzing dolphin vocalizations and vocal development with respect to signal structure and organization.

Dolphin social intelligence: complex alliance relationships in bottlenose dolphins and a consideration of selective environments for extreme brain size evolution in mammals

“…Dolphins certainly can imitate whistles, and a variety of other artificial sounds, with astonishing speed (Richards et al 1984). Reiss & McCowan (1993) linked four distinct artificial whistles to the presentation of four different objects given to captive dolphins that later produced imitations of these sounds when interacting with the objects.…”

A Law of Word Meaning in Dolphin Whistle Types

“…The similarity between this automatic classification technique and the way dolphins categorize whistles is not known. However, this automated technique was developed based on the way dolphins imitate computer-generated whistles [31,32]. The robustness of this technique is a matter of debate [22,33].…”

Towards an animal-centred ethics for Animal–Computer Interaction

“…companion species such as cats and dogs) are warranted special consideration (par. 18,21,33). Where their welfare is not compromised by having undergone procedures, the directive indicates that "animals such as dogs and cats should be allowed to be rehomed in families as there is a high level of public concern as to the fate of such animals" (par.…”

“…Touch-screen computers allowing great apes to learn and use lexigrams to communicate with human researchers have been around since the '80s [37,42]; while underwater keyboards for dolphins were initially prototyped in the early '90s [33]. Roughly at the same time, automatic robotic milking systems, which allow dairy cows to choose when to be milked, made their appearance [38].…”