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Abstract
ABSTRACT Bottlenose dolphins are highly social animals that communicate through complex vocal signals, making them a compelling species for the study of underwater animal communication. This study investigates the determinants of whistle production in wild bottlenose dolphins by analysing a dataset from two distinct study areas. Over a 15-year period, 189.1 h of acoustic recordings were collected from 464 sightings of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins in Mediterranean waters (Sardinia, Italy) and Atlantic waters (Galicia, Spain). Acoustic data were collected alongside synchronous surface observations, including data on behaviour and group size. Focal group Whistle Rate (defined as the number of whistles per minute emitted by the observed focal dolphin group) was modelled using Generalised Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) on randomly selected acoustic samples, to minimise pseudo-replication and temporal correlation. Results indicate that Whistle Rate increases with group size, is higher during active behaviours such as socialising and feeding and is significantly different across populations. The combination of the long-term dataset and the comparison of two ecologically distinct locations suggest that whistle production is not only driven by individual variables but also by the interactions of social and behavioural factors unique to each underwater environment, advancing our understanding of vocal communication in bottlenose dolphins.
Published Version
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