The Development of Social Play in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Abstract

-For the young of many species, social play is an important aspect of development. Previous research has shown that bottlenose dolphin calves engage in social play early in life. Despite these observations, little is known about the development of social play in this species. The present study examined the social play behavior of three aquarium-housed bottlenose dolphin calves during their first year of life. We were particularly interested in the partner with whom each calf played as well as the initiator of social play bouts. Each calf was observed from birth until the end of its first year and all bouts of social and solitary play were recorded during observation sessions. While the calves engaged in both social and solitary play throughout their first year, play became increasingly social as they aged. The calves also became more likely to initiate social play interactions with increasing age. A calf's first social play partner was typically its mother, but other calves quickly replaced the mother as the most common play partner. When it came to play partner preferences, we found that calves of similar age were preferred as play partners, but age similarity became less characteristic of play partners as the calves grew older. These findings likely reflect changes in the developmental competence of each of the calves individually, and support the notion that calves use social play to challenge themselves. Keywords -Social play, Bottlenose dolphins; Development; Play partner preference; Tursiops truncatusSocial play, or play behavior directed at conspecifics (Burghardt, 2005), is evident in a variety of species and is especially salient in those with complex social structures. Social play has been reported in both human (e.g., Doyle, Connolly, & Rivest, 1980;Eckerman, Whatley, & Kutz, 1975;Fry, 2005) and non-human primates (e.g., Cordoni & Palagi, 2011;Harlow & Harlow, 1962;Hoff, Nadler, & Maple, 1981;de Oliveira, Ruiz-Miranda, Kleiman, & Beck, 2003), as well as a variety of terrestrial mammals (e.g., Byers, 1977;Drea, Hawk, & Glickman, 1996;Henry & Herrero, 1974;Lee, 1987;Wemmer & Fleming, 1974), aquatic mammals (e.g., Blomqvist, Mello, & Amundin, 2005Essapian, 1953;Gentry, 1974;Kuczaj, Makecha, Trone, Paulos, & Ramos, 2006;Mann & Smuts, 1999;McBride & Hebb, 1948;Renouf & Lawson, 1986; Spinelli, Nascimento, & Yamamato, 2002;Sylvestre, 1985), birds (e.g., Diamond & Bond, 2003; Pozis-Francios, Zahavi, & Zahavi, 2004), and even reptiles (e.g., Burghardt, 1998). The ubiquitous presence of social play in highly social species highlights the need for studies aimed at understanding the various aspects of this behavior and the role it plays in social interactions.One aquatic species in which social play is evident, but little studied, is the bottlenose dolphin,

Environmental changes and anthropogenic factors modulate social play in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

“…According to our results, frequency and duration of social play should both be taken in account. However, play frequency is more often used than play duration (Greene, Melillo‐Sweeting, & Dudzinski, ; McCowan et al, ) even if play duration can be used at the same time (Mackey et al, ; von Streit et al, ). Our results demonstrate the pertinence to measure play frequency to test conditions and events such as environmental enrichment and disturbances’ impact.…”

Learning to play: A review and theoretical investigation of the developmental mechanisms and functions of cetacean play

“…Over the first two months of life social play primarily occurs between mother and offspring (Guarino et al, 2016;Hill, 2009;Hill, Campbell, Dalton, & Osborn, 2013;Mann & Smuts, 1999). Partner selectivity for same age peers begins to develop as the frequency of play increases with young calves typically associating with one individual closest in age to themselves (Hill & Ramirez, 2014;Jones & Kuczaj, 2014;Mackey, Makecha, & Kuczaj, 2014). As calves age, older and more competent peers are selected for play interactions instead of same-age peers, possibly as a way to test their abilities (Baldwin & Baldwin, 1978;Mackey et al, 2014).…”

“…Play is considered a part of adult behavioral repertoires for all species of Cetacea, although it has been studied most often with belugas and a variety of dolphins in managed care and with certain populations in their natural habitat (e.g., Bender, 2012;Greene et al, 2011;Hill & Ramirez, 2014;Jones & Kuczaj, 2014;Mackey et al, 2014). Play in adulthood differs in its forms and is thought to have distinct functions and motivations from developmental play.…”

“…It has been suggested that observation and imitation of the observed behaviors during play may facilitate the transmission of novel behaviors. Thus, constraints on social availability, such as limited social groupings with few models of various ages, may result in developmental differences in play behavior (Bender, 2012;Mackey et al, 2014). found that bottlenose dolphin calves will produce more novel behaviors if two or more peers are present in the environment.…”

Vocal activities reflect the temporal distribution of bottlenose dolphin social and non‐social activity in a zoological park

“…The activity of each individual (identified on the basis of physical differences, such as shape of dorsal fin, face, color patterns, or natural marks) was recorded at each scan. Our definitions of activities were adapted from those commonly used in other studies: social activities (play, socio‐sexual behavior, agonistic behavior, positive or neutral social interaction), inactive (when animal is stationary, such as rest), solitary play, body movements, spy‐hopping, and swimming (Table ) (Dudzinski, ; Kyngdon, Minot, & Stafford, ; Lusseau, ; Mackey, Makecha, & Kuczaj, ; Sakai, Hishii, Takeda, & Kohshima, ; Scheer, ; Streit von et al, ; Tamaki, Morisaka, & Taki, ). The observer was positioned at a fixed point on the edge of Pool One (the largest) from where all the pools were visible.…”