St. in the UK Andrews University oceanographers have discovered that bottlenose dolphins recognize their mates by the taste of their urine and their characteristic whistles. They detailed the details in a journal article. Science Advances.
The researchers presented eight bottlenose dolphin urine samples from both familiar and unfamiliar individuals. It turned out that dolphins spend three times more time studying, tasting the urine of acquaintances – they cannot smell due to the absence of olfactory bulbs.
“Dolphins keep their mouths open and take longer to collect urine samples from familiar individuals than from unfamiliar ones. This is important because dolphins are the first vertebrates where social recognition occurred primarily through taste,” he said.
In the second part of the experiment, the researchers turned on the recording of the dolphin’s voice while simultaneously sending the urine sample. If it belonged to the same individual as the specimen, the experimental dolphins studied it longer – apparently the overlap of signs aroused their interest.
During social interaction, dolphins examine each other’s genitals, possibly also familiarizing themselves with the taste of urine, the authors of the study note. After the animal swims, the urine stays in the water for a while, which gives the dolphin the opportunity to find traces of its acquaintances. Scientists fear that anthropogenic pollution will prevent dolphins from transmitting signals to each other in this way, disrupting their interactions.
Source: Gazeta
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