Center for Whale Research: Cetacean Intelligence, Part One

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Cetacean Intelligence, Part One

Dolphins in the military (Creative Commons Photo)

030318-N-5319A-002.Central Command Area of Responsibility (Mar. 18, 2003) -- K-Dog, a Bottle Nose Dolphin belonging to Commander Task Unit (CTU) 55.4.3, leaps out of the water in front Sgt. Andrew Garrett while training near the USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) in the Arabian Gulf. CTU-55.4.3 is a multi-national team consisting of Naval Special Clearance Team-One, Fleet Diving Unit Three from the United Kingdom, Clearance Dive Team from Australia, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Units Six and Eight (EODMU-6 and -8). These units are conducting deep/shallow water mine countermeasure operations to clear shipping lanes for humanitarian relief. CTU-55.4.3 and USS Gunston Hall are currently forward deployed conducting missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer?s Mate 1st Class Brien Aho. (RELEASED).

Although we are accustomed to seeing highly trained cetaceans in the entertainment industry, they are also trained to assist in military projects.

But their intelligence goes much farther and deeper than simple training, as defined by scientists. M.P. Simmonds in Applied Animal Behaviour Science 100 (2006) 103–116 113, has summarized the features that scientists look for in determining intelligence across species lines, and have found in many dolphins and whales:

"A summary of evidence for higher cognitive functioning in cetaceans"

"i. High level of encephalisation, including very well developed cerebellum in many species

ii. Long lives and long periods of parental care (evidence of post-reproductive care-givers)--exploiters of typically patchy and unpredictable prey

iii. Ability to learn complex behaviours and solve problems

iv. Ability to improvise/innovate

v. Tool use (but not tool manufacture)

vi. Vocal and behavioural imitation

vii. Ability to learn artificial languages (limited vocabulary but understand grammar and syntax)

viii. Many species exhibit closely co-ordinated behaviours

ix. Many species have complex social interactions

x. Evidence of self awareness, awareness of others, including emotional responses

xi. Cultural transmission of information"

The next post will cover the biology of their adaptations to the marine environment that are associated with their brain development.

1 comment:

AnonymousJanuary 28, 2010 at 4:00 AM
Yeah, I aint surpised that with all that intelligence the navy uses them as slaves.
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Some Background Information on the Orca Captivity Issue from Howard Garrett

"In 1965 a young male orca was captured in the town of Namu, BC. He was sold to Ted Griffin and towed in a pen to Seattle, where he was promoted extensively and made into a worldwide celebrity. Namu died after 11 months of captivity, but by then Sea World had captured their first Shamu from Puget Sound and the revenues from killer whale shows started a stampede to capture and sell orcas from Washington.

For ten years the captures were led by Don Goldsberry and Ted Griffin, who became public enemies after they tried to violently obstruct news coverage of their operations. They caught over 100 in that time, but claimed there were plenty of orcas here so the captures would make little difference on a population level. There was no science to dispute that until the mid-1970's when Canada and the US contracted with marine biologists Mike Bigg and Ken Balcomb, respectively, to conduct a survey to find out how many orcas there were in Washington and BC. They found only a few hundred, mostly north of Vancouver Island, meaning the captures had removed about a third of those resident to Washington waters.

Goldsberry, Griffin, Sea World, and the marine park industry in general disputed the scientists' findings and methods because they didn't like the results, and thus began a deep animosity toward field researchers on the part of the marine park industry. That dislike and disregard for the natural history of orcas that Bigg and Balcomb and many others revealed over the years became part of the marine park culture and continues to this day. The longevity of orcas, for example, was known from field research to be many decades longer than what marine parks told the public in their educational materials.

Needless to say, any organization that criticizes the captivity industry or that attempts to rehab, retire or release captives receives special scorn from the industry (which includes many people on Keiko's care team)."

"... and that's unfortunate because there could be some areas of agreement and cooperation if we could trust one another's information. But for those within the industry survival of the business is often more important than survival of the orcas, so rather than defend against these innuendos, unless there are disputed facts I'll try to give the background for the argument and leave it at that." From Comments by Howard Garrett

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Cetacean Intelligence, Part One

1 comment:

Candace Calloway Whiting