Defense Date
4-28-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science
Degree Name
Marine Science
First Advisor
Amy C. Hirons, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Kathleen M. Dudzinski, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Rosanna Boyle (Milligan), Ph.D.
Keywords
Calf development, social behavior, tactile contacts, Tursiops truncatus, bottlenose dolphins
Abstract
Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops sp.) calf development has been well studied within the mother-calf relationship, but little is known about calf-initiated interactions with other individuals. Tactile exchanges are an important social behavior in dolphin societies, and developing these skills is important for survival. Contacts initiated by 11 bottlenose dolphin (T. truncatus) calves were examined from underwater video collected between 2017 to 2024. In ~22 h of video, calves initiated 1,984 contacts with all group members. As they aged, calves decreased the number of contacts they initiated with the mother, instead contacting peers, juveniles, three- and two-year-olds, more often. Female calves (n =1,114) initiated more contacts than males (n = 870) overall, and both sexes contacted the same sex more than expected with and without the mother included. Three-year-old male calves initiated more contacts with peers and used the pectoral fin to do so, likely beginning social bonding through pectoral fin contacts as seen in adult males who preferentially interact with same-sex peers. All calves initiated most of their contacts towards their mother and adult females while in the infant and echelon pair swim positions, which seemed to influence the body parts used for contact. Significant associations were present among focal calves in number of contacts and body parts used to initiate contact as they aged, supporting the notion of distinct personalities developing as dolphin calves mature. These results indicate early differences of sex, age, and identified individuals for calves as they initiate contact and begin to build their social network(s).
ORCID ID
0009-0009-9346-654X
NSUWorks Citation
Savanna Marie Duda. 2026. Patterns of Calf-Initiated Contact Exchanges in Bottlenose Dolphins based on Sex and Age. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (230)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcas_etd_all/230.