Marine mammals such as dolphins and fish each have a frequency unique to each species, as well as each organism, in a pod.(Baker, 2013) Scientists have called these “signature whistles” Elsevier, 1989). Organisms use these whistles similar to how we use names, associating the frequency to specific individuals in the pod. Whales have a frequency between 40-80 kilohertz while dolphins at about 3-23 kilohertz. Due to the sound differences, organisms are able to distinguish between organisms of different species and individuals in their pods, or neighboring pods. If individuals of a species are capable of individualising their “signature whistles” are they able to then use those signature whistles to develop ways of hunting fish using each of the individuals in the pod? Scientists have been studying this behavior since the 1960’s, and have just recently discovered a whale who’s whistle sounds like a duck call (Kahn, 2014). In Between all matters of life, communication between organisms of like species has been an important part of survival, for so long, and so perfect, that whales have not substantially evolved for about 33 billion years (Uhen, Mark). For example, dolphins hunt using a technique called ‘herding’,as well as many other techniques, which involves members of a pod circling a group of fish and through a series of yips, chirps, whistles, communicate to each other as they in circle their prey into a tightly packed group, allowing one dolphin at a time to swim through the group of fish while the other members of the pod incircle the fish. It is more efficient for groups of a like species to hunt together than one at a time (Bone, 2014). The herd will continue to do this until all have fed, or until the resourc... ... middle of paper ... ...en information. With the use of echolocation, whales and dolphins can communicate between individuals, hunt, navigate, and visualize their surroundings even though they can’t always see it. An organisms ability to adapt and survive and environment is known as fitness, and has been perfected by whales in such a way that they haven’t significantly evolved for about 33 million years. Scientists have been using this extraordinary sense of communication, and depiction to identify in humans, specifically blind humans, the ability to use this advanced method of environmental depiction, and how they have used it to not only see their surroundings, detect movements in surroundings, and use this skill not only to navigate by walking, but even use this to depict what their entire environment looks like, what it contains, and what materials are present in the environment.
Watch out dolphins because you may no longer be the most intelligent animals anymore! Elephants, one of our lands largest creatures, are taking your spot! In the video, Elephants Show Cooperation, the article, Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk, and the passage, from Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task, the authors illustrate the intelligence of these pachyderms. They all show an experiment that proves this claim. Elephants “join the elite club of social cooperators: chimpanzees, hyenas, rooks, and humans.” Their cognitive ability even surprises the researchers. They not only make wise decisions, but also work well with their companions. All three sources depict the sagacity of these remarkable creatures.
2. Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. New York: Greenwillow, 2001. The Ohio Digital Library. Overdrive. Web. 13 Jan. 14. .
In Herman Melville’s world-renowned tale, Moby Dick, the crew aboard the Pequod sail the seas in order to hunt, capture, and kill a mysteriously terrifying sperm whale named “Moby Dick”. For centuries, humans have used technological advances to protect their elite status in the animal kingdom, at the unfortunate expense of species ignorantly perceived as being too weak or unintelligent to fight back. Moby Dick illuminates one of the most historically cruel instances of selfishly-oriented, industrial engineering: whaling and hunting animals for sport. Humans and animals are the only living creatures with a similar state of consciousness and this cognitive interconnectedness binds the two species together in ways that can only be speculated and
Watson P, Hammarstedt P. Whale wars. Discovery.com [Video/Internet]. Foley C; 2008 Nov 8 [cited 2014 Jan 28]. 58 episodes. Available From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQgQlcEmUIs
scientists need even small indicators, such as the dorsal fin, which help identify specific whales.
Killer whales have a recognizable coloration with a black back and white belly. They also have a noticeable o...
While whaling isn’t nearly as popular today, in this time many men made, or attempted to make, a living in this industry. Despite the hard work, dangerous standards and general intimidation, shipmates were lured into the industry for the high pay. When feeling protected by a large ship, weapons and a fearless captain, it was easy to forget the power of what they were hunting. The sperm whale is the largest of all the toothed whales, with males maturing at an average size of fifty- two feet and sometimes can reach up to sixty-seven feet in length. “It’s twenty-foot-wide tail pumped up and down.” (Philbrick, 2000, 82) The domain of life that the sperm whale belongs to is the Eukaryote. This is because the sperm whale is an organism that is made up of cells that contain a nucleus as well as other structures that are enclosed by the cell membrane. The kingdom that it belongs to is the Animalia. This is because they are multi-cellular organisms. These animals contain other distinct features including; “interior digestion of f...
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
Cetaceans are thought to be some of the most intelligent species on this planet. Popular culture has embraced the idea of cetacean intelligence with shows such as the 1960s hit TV series Flipper, where a dolphin is used to help fight crime. In his comedic science fiction novels, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, author Douglas Adams suggests that dolphins are the second most intelligent creatures on Earth, behind mice and above humans. Although most scientists would probably argue that humans are the most intelligent species, the behavior and brain size of dolphins and other cetaceans suggests that they too are intelligent. This paper will briefly describe the reason some scientists believe cetaceans are intelligent species and then give examples of scientific studies, which suggest cetacean intelligence. Since bottlenose dolphins and orcas are the most widely studied cetaceans, the survey of field studies will primarily focus on these two species. At the end, this paper provides an argument of why some scientists discredit the high degree of cetacean intelligence.
...The use of sonar directly impacted the melon-headed whale and indirectly hurt the whale industry because the use of sonar killed 100s of melon-headed whales that could’ve been seen on an average whale-watching trip.
The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) has had a slow recovery since the cessation of commercial...
Aristotle once wrote, “The voice of the dolphin in the air is like that of the human in that they can pronounce vowels and combinations of vowels, but have difficulties with the constants.” The dolphin is one amazing creature. Dolphins, whales and porpoises are all related. I am going to talk about all aspects off the dolphin from evolution and vocalization to behavior and intelligence.
Visual perception plays a big part on how we perceive life. If we didn't have perception I don't know where we would be now.
Watkins WA, Daher MA, Fristrup KM, Howald TJ (1993) Sperm whales tagged with transponders and tracked underwater by sonar. Marine Mammal Society. 9(1):55-67
Whales are notable for being mammals which are fully adapted to oceanic life. These are three groups of Whales in their phylogenetic tree; Archaeocetes, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. The first group are known from their fossils and are seen to be a transitionary form as they retained a number of features associated with land mammals e.g. hind limbs with feet and limbs. The two other groups diverged around the start of the Oligocene; when the ice caps started to grow in the poles of the earth. It has been suggested that this may be due to the rise of seasonal planktonic production which could have led to specialisation (Houben, 2013); this ties in nicely with other summarisations which link the diversions of Whales in this time period. Mysticeti and Odontoceti differ on two counts; Mysticeti possess baleen making them filter feeders of plankton, in comparison Odontoceti possess a single set of teeth and have the ability to echolocate.