The Dolphin Pod

An interview with DCP Research Associate Manon Themelin and DCP Director Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski.  We learn how Manon got started researching dolphins and the exciting discoveries she's made. Manon's research into relationship quality (RQ) shows that the methods we apply to the study of ravens and chimpanzees works just as well for dolphins, albeit with some minor tweaks to accommodate for dolphins' aquatic lifestyle and peculiar ways of socializing. Also, it turns out that the positions dolphin adopt when swimming next to each other and how they navigate each others' slipstreams can tell us a lot about the relationships between individual dolphins. 

Justin interviews Jason Bruck, Assistant Professor of Biology at Stephen F. Austin State University. Jason is the head of the Bruck Integrative Biology Lab where he and his students study dolphin behavior and cognition. In this interview, Jason and Justin discuss:

·         how Jason got into the field

·         advice he offers to student hoping to study dolphins

·         his latest research on dolphin signature whistles and urine

·         his history with Kathleen and DCP

·         why dolphins are the hardest animals to work with on the planet

·         his unexpected past as a juggler

·         his home arcade

·         the scientists who influenced his career

·         the challenges and advantages facing young academics 

·         women in the field of dolphin science

·         the things that people often misunderstand about dolphins

·         parsimony and the problem of anthropomorphism

·         his lab's current research on ocean noise and how it affects dolphin cognition and behavior

·         his research collecting samples from wild dolphins using drones

Dolphins are pretty strange when it comes to the way they treat strangers. Unlike most primates (including humans,) when two separate dolphin societies (including different species) share the same space, they can integrate their societies without any violence whatsoever. Find out how DCP researchers Kelly Melillo-Sweeting and Nicole Danaher-Garcia discovered that the spotted dolphins living around Bimini are able to live peacefully alongside bottlenose dolphins AND how these Bimini spotted welcomed a group of four dozen "refugee" spotted dolphins into their society without batting an eye.

Here are the articles we discuss:

Levengood, A., Melillo-Sweeting, K., Ribic, C.A., Beck, A.J., Dudzinski, K.M. (2022). Shoreline distribution of dolphins along North Bimini Island, The Bahamas. Caribbean Journal of Science, 52(2), 162-176. https://doi.org/10.18475/cjos.v52i2.a3

Danaher-Garcia, N., Connor, R., Fay, G., Melillo-Sweeting, K., Dudzinski, K.M. (2022). The partial merger of two dolphin societies. R. Soc. open sci. 9: 211936. 211936. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211963.

A special podcast celebrating 20 years of The Dolphin Communication Project. In this episode, Justin and Laura interview DCP royalty: Kathleen Dudzinski and Kelly Melillo-Sweeting. Hear how DCP got started after Kathleen’s humble beginnings as a movie star, and how Kelly accidentally stumbled into an 18-year career as a dolphin researcher. Also, listen as Laura asks Kathleen and Kelly a series of awkward questions she had been meaning to ask her Tinder dates. 

Hey Parents! In this episode, we make references to dating apps and adult relationships. Mostly general dating stuff – nothing explicit. It’s all very kid friendly. But just giving you the heads up! 

In the episode, Laura goes head-to-head with Kelly Melillo-Sweeting in a science quiz focused on a recently published article on lateral behavior in bottlenose dolphins. It’s going to be an uphill battle for poor Laura since Kelly is one of the authors of the article.

Here's the article being discussed in this episode: Kaplan, JD. Goodrich, SY, Melillo-Sweeting K, Reiss, D. (2019). Behavioural laterality in foraging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Royal Society Open Science. 6: 190929. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190929.

In the episode, Laura and Justin transform themselves into a pair of dolphins and explore the waters of Shark Bay, Australia to figure out what happened when a mysterious heatwave wreaked havoc on the local dolphin population.

Rising ocean temperatures pose a serious threaten to marine species, including dolphins. A seemingly innocent, short-term rise in ocean temperature off the west coast of Australia had devastating and long-term consequences for a number of plant and animal species in Shark Bay. The local population of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins saw a drop in their population numbers, as well as low birth rates after the heatwave. Eight years later, the population is slowly recovering.

The article being discussed in this episode is:

Sonja Wild, Michael Krützen, Robert W. Rankin, William J.E. Hoppitt, Livia Gerber, Simon J. Allen. Long-term decline in survival and reproduction of dolphins following a marine heatwave. Current Biology, 2019; 29 (7): R239 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.047

Here's a link to more info about the article article:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982219302179

Dolphin Pod co-host Laura Teasdale thinks that she used to know more about dolphins when she was a kid. In this episode, she gets a chance to prove it! Our AI assistant DOLPH creates an 8-year-old clone of Laura for (old) Laura to go up against in a (rather challenging) dolphin science quiz! Who will win? Stay tuned to find out!

The primary article being discussed in this episode is: 

Ortega-Ortiz, Christian & Wonneberger, Elena & Martínez-Serrano, Ibiza & Kono-Martínez, Tadashi & Villegas Zurita, Francisco & M. Enríquez Paredes, Luis & Llamas González, Myriam & Olivos, Aramis & Liñán-Cabello, Marco & Gerardo Verduzco-Zapata, Manuel. (2019). Consequences Potentially Related to a Meteorological Event on a Resident Group of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Mexican Pacific. Aquatic Mammals. 45. 99-105. 10.1578/AM.45.1.2019.99

The research articles mentioned in the podcast involving how hurricanes affect dolphins are as follows: 

Fearnbach, Holly & W. Durban, J & Parsons, K & Claridge, Diane. (2012). Photographic mark-recapture analysis of local dynamics within an open population of dolphins. Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America. 22. 1689-700. 10.2307/41722883

Miller, Lance & Mackey, Angela & Hoffland, Tim & Solangi, Moby & Kuczaj, Stan. (2010). Potential effects of a major hurricane on Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) reproduction in the Mississippi Sound. Marine Mammal Science. 26. 707 - 715. 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00371.x

More research from Christian Ortega-Ortiz at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christian_Ortega-Ortiz

This research originated from the University of Colima in Mexico: https://www.ucol.mx/

Get in touch with The Dolphin Pod via social media at https://twitter.com/dolphincommu or https://facebook.com/dolphincommunicationproject/ 

This episode features research from Morigenos – the Slovenian Marine Mammal Society. Learn more about their work at: https://www.morigenos.org/

The primary article being discussed is: 

Genov T., Centrih T., Kotnjek P., Hace A. 2019. Behavioural and temporal partitioning of dolphin social groups in the northern Adriatic Sea. Marine Biology 166: 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3450-8

We also discuss the following article: 

Genov T., Jepson P.D., Barber J.L., Hace A., Gaspari S., Centrih T., Lesjak J., Kotnjek P. 2019. Linking organochlorine contaminants with demographic parameters in free-ranging common bottlenose dolphins from the northern Adriatic Sea. Science of the Total Environment 657: 200-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.025

More info on the biopsy darts used to take samples from wild dolphins:

http://www.kaosa.org.br/publications/23_Fruet_et_al_2016_Biopsy_darting.pdf

These darts are quite small and cause minimal discomfort to the dolphin: "Tips measured 25mm in length and 8mm in diameter and had a cylindrical punch fitted with three internal barbs (to hold a sample in place) attached to modified darts. A cylindrical foam stopper caused the bolt to rebound after impact and limited the penetration depth to 20mm."

For more information on the other bottlenose dolphin groups mentioned, visit website for the following research groups: 

https://www.sarasotadolphin.org/

http://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/marine-mammals/dolphins/bottlenose-dolphin/doubtful-sound-bottlenose-dolphins/

Slovenian language (Slovene) tips were taken from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phrlqxje9eE

And this is how you write the Slovene phrase “kje si!” which means something like “what’s up”. Here’s an actual Slovenian Eurovision singer (Anika Horvat) singing the words kje si. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mF9C1zFNw8 Our pronunciation is not too far off, eh?

This episode features Slovenian folk music from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E54IhTh5OhY

More info about the beautiful Slovenian village of Piran here: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/slovenia/karst-and-coast/piran

The image used for this episode was taken from a post found on the Twitter account of Tilen Genov, lead author of the scientific article being discussed: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dusxl8OWkAAsG3c.jpg

This episode was made possible through generous donations from supporters of the Dolphin Communication Project. We rely on public support to produce The Dolphin Pod. Please consider contributing to our GoFundMe campaign to help make future episodes possible: https://gofundme.com/the-dolphin-pod

What did you think of this episode? Get in touch with us via social media at https://twitter.com/dolphincommu or https://facebook.com/dolphincommunicationproject/ and let us know! 

The Dolphin Pod is back! After a 10 year hiatus, everyone's favorite dolphin science podcast is back in action. This time around, Justin Gregg will be joined by a new co-host; the hilarious and ultra-talented actor, musician, and improviser Laura Teasdale. Justin and Laura will be discussing dolphin science topics including cool new research, dolphin news stories, and surprising and entertaining dolphin facts and trivia. New full-length episodes are scheduled for early 2019. In the meantime, you can support the relaunch of the show by heading over to our fundraiser at https://gofundme.com/the-dolphin-pod.