A legacy of excellence: SAY’s contributions to bioacoustics research at the Navy Marine Mammal Program

Abstract

The dolphin SAY is considered a jack-of-all-trades in marine mammal science. This comes as no surprise as her mother was one of the five dolphins deployed to Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam as part of the Navy’s first deployable marine mammal system. SAY was born in 1979 and began participating in research from birth; she was the first dolphin to have her caloric intake and weight tracked as a calf into adulthood, and while carrying her own calf in 1991. In her early years, she participated in cutting-edge studies using high-speed video endoscopy to better understand dolphin click production. She later participated in echolocation vigilance tasks that spearheaded our understanding of dolphin cognitive abilities focusing on duration and the effects of anthropogenic noise. During this same time, she diligently contributed to projects that revolutionized our understanding of dolphin biosonar and its relation to perception and auditory system neurophysiology. SAY will be remembered by her charismatic personality and her 38 years of service to science and the United States Navy. Her daughter continues to carry out her legacy working for the Navy’s fleet mine-hunting system.