[Animals] Study: Dolphins recognize each other by sounds and the taste of urine

[Love Pulse]

 

 

https://www.mc-doualiya.com/علوم/20220519-دراسة-الدلافين-تتعرف-على-بعضها-عن-طريق-الأصوات-ومذاق-البول

 

 

Dolphins rely on the taste of urine to recognize their familiar congeners as well as the sounds these animals make, according to a study published Wednesday, May 19 - 2022 in the journal Science Advances.

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"Dolphins are the first vertebrates we've shown that socially recognize each other through taste alone," lead study author Jason Brooke told AFP, explaining that these animals "keep their mouths open and taste the urine of familiar dolphins for longer" than when they ingest the urine of unfamiliar ones. .

This research, conducted by observing the reactions of eight common bottlenose dolphins, answered a question that scientists have asked for a long time: whether animals can classify other animals of their kind as "friendly", like humans.

The study indicated that "animals find it difficult to find each other in the ocean, and just because they rely on taste to hear or sense the presence of others familiar to them, it is an important indicator" to be able to locate them, especially since urine is characterized by remaining in the water for a long time after the animals' departure.

Like dogs that sniff each other when they meet, viewing their genitals is a common practice among dolphins, giving them a chance to taste their own urine.

To make sure that dolphins recognize their congeners based on the taste of urine, the scientists trained a group of dolphins to voluntarily provide their urine after they were fed. Urine samples were collected in syringes.

The researchers then compared the reactions of eight dolphins (two female and six male) after being injected with water or urine. As a result, the animals took twice as long to analyze the water to break down the urine.

In a second stage, the researchers provided the animals with urine samples taken from familiar dolphins and then others from exotic dolphins, and it was found that the animals spent three times the time tasting the urine samples of the familiar animals than it took them to taste the urine of those strange ones.

Finally, the scientists played dolphin sounds through loudspeakers. This type of animal has the advantage that each of them has a unique voice that develops in its infancy.

As the scientists put urine in front of the dolphins, sounds of familiar dolphins that provided their urine and sounds of completely different dolphins were played.

And when the sound of dolphins that gave their urine was turned on, the animals spent more time near the speakers, suggesting that tasting the animals' familiar urine while hearing their own voice aroused greater interest in the dolphins.

"It is possible that dolphins can obtain other information by tasting urine, such as their reproductive status," the study authors said.

In the future, studying how marine pollution affects the ability of dolphins to identify their congeners may lead to important results. "It is possible that marine pollution is preventing males from recognizing reproductive females," Jason Brooke said.