The ability of adult wild Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) to
synchronize vocalizations and behaviors has been found to be a key factor in overcoming
much larger bottlenose dolphins during interspecies aggression (Cusick & Herzing,
2014). Furthermore, an adult baseline of behaviors and vocalizations during aggressive
events containing synchrony has been established (Myers, Herzing, & Bjorklund, 2017).
The present study examines juvenile aggression that contains bouts of synchrony to look
at the development of this valuable skill. Differences of duration between adult and
juvenile synchronous bouts, lag sequential analyses, frequencies of behavioral classes
depending on the age class of the aggressor-recipient dynamic, differences in the
frequencies of behavioral classes depending on the synchronous state and aggressorrecipient
dynamic, and differences in behavioral classes exhibited by adults and juveniles
during different synchronous states were analyzed. Adults, across group size, were able
to maintain physical synchrony for a longer duration. Juveniles were often in loose synchronous groups before forming into a tight synchronous group as seen in adult
synchrony. Vocal synchrony during adult aggression in terms of synchronized squawks
were longer in duration than vocal synchrony during juvenile aggression. Juveniles used
more pursuit behaviors during aggression, which indicates practice of a behavior that was
found to be the most frequently used in interspecies aggression (Volker, 2016).
Additionally, when adults were present in juvenile aggression, they used fewer
aggressive behavioral classes demonstrating self-handicapping based on their opponent.
This illustrates that there is a learning period for both vocal and physical synchrony for
juvenile dolphins and that juvenile aggression, or play-fighting, is an important aspect of
the development of these skills. This study is the first to describe juvenile synchrony in a
population of wild Atlantic spotted dolphins. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_40744 |
| Contributors | Myers, Alyson J. (author), Bjorklund, David F. (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 93 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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