The use of acoustic playbacks with captive cetaceans

Abstract

Playbacks are a powerful tool in studies of animal communication and cognition. They can provide insights into referentiality, social memory, anti-predator strategies, sexual selection, as well as a host of other topics. In particular, playbacks have been a useful method for understanding the nature of wild dolphin communication using temporarily restrained animals. Unfortunately, there are a series of questions where complete social histories of subjects or certain controls are needed, but unavailable in wild study populations. Captive, free-swimming animals present a complementary set of subjects where one can address questions involving referentiality or dolphin social memory. Methods for conducting playbacks with captive groups differ greatly than for wild subjects. I will explore the procedural differences of these experiments, including overcoming difficulties associated with recording and presenting sounds in an acoustically challenging environment as well as how to measure response behavior. Furthermore, I will discuss the potential of captive acoustic playbacks by highlighting data collected from such studies including evidence for dolphin multi-decade social memory, context dependent cue usage and acoustic kin recognition.