Mother-Calf Contact Exchanges in Bottlenose Dolphins
Abstract
The relationship between a dolphin mother and her calf has been well studied, but details regarding tactile exchanges within these dyads are limited. Contacts between five adult female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and their calves were examined from video collected in October 2017, 2018, 2019, and January 2018. Of the 312 contact events documented, 289 had a clearly initiating dolphin, who started the behavior. Calves initiated 65.7% of contacts, with 82.6% categorized as affiliative, initiating with body parts besides rostrum or fluke, while 77.8% of mother-initiated contacts were affiliative. Therefore, the overall trend for mother-calf contacts was affiliative. Agonistic contact from mothers increased slightly as calves aged from one (C1) to three (C3) years. Mothers rarely used the dorsal fin to contact their calves, rather initiating mostly with their body; no pattern in body part use existed in relation to calf age. Four mothers consistently used the fluke for agonistic contact while the other additionally used her rostrum with her C3 calf. All three calf ages used affiliative body contacts though C3 calves used these most often. C1 calves also initiated contact with the dorsal fin and pectoral fins, which might be an artifact of echelon and/or infant swim positions. Calves initiated agonistic exchanges predominantly with the fluke, though one C1 calf initiated most of these. These results support the notion that mother-calf dyads share more affiliative than agonistic contacts, expanding our knowledge on tactile mother-calf relationships.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Amy C. Hirons
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-5-2023 12:00 PM
End Date
4-6-2023 4:00 PM
Mother-Calf Contact Exchanges in Bottlenose Dolphins
Alvin Sherman Library
The relationship between a dolphin mother and her calf has been well studied, but details regarding tactile exchanges within these dyads are limited. Contacts between five adult female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and their calves were examined from video collected in October 2017, 2018, 2019, and January 2018. Of the 312 contact events documented, 289 had a clearly initiating dolphin, who started the behavior. Calves initiated 65.7% of contacts, with 82.6% categorized as affiliative, initiating with body parts besides rostrum or fluke, while 77.8% of mother-initiated contacts were affiliative. Therefore, the overall trend for mother-calf contacts was affiliative. Agonistic contact from mothers increased slightly as calves aged from one (C1) to three (C3) years. Mothers rarely used the dorsal fin to contact their calves, rather initiating mostly with their body; no pattern in body part use existed in relation to calf age. Four mothers consistently used the fluke for agonistic contact while the other additionally used her rostrum with her C3 calf. All three calf ages used affiliative body contacts though C3 calves used these most often. C1 calves also initiated contact with the dorsal fin and pectoral fins, which might be an artifact of echelon and/or infant swim positions. Calves initiated agonistic exchanges predominantly with the fluke, though one C1 calf initiated most of these. These results support the notion that mother-calf dyads share more affiliative than agonistic contacts, expanding our knowledge on tactile mother-calf relationships.
