Mentor/s
Dr. Deirdre Yeater
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Whereas several studies focused on object play in dolphins, few have examined details about observers, i.e., individuals just watching the play event without participating. It has been suggested that calves and juveniles are more likely to observe others engaging in object play, but not enough evidence has been collected. Object play among bottlenose dolphins at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences was documented from 28 sessions recorded underwater. 692 object play events including observers were analyzed, involving 18 dolphins. We expected calf and juvenile dolphins to be the most frequent observers and longer play bouts to attract a greater number of observing dolphins. Data analyses showed that juveniles were the most frequent observers. However, there was not enough evidence to support the idea of longer play bouts (30-70 s) having a greater chance of attracting observers than shorter bouts (0-30 s). Our result showed that even though juvenile dolphins seem to observe object play more than any other age group, further analyses are required to determine if juveniles are more likely to become actors in the future based on their role as observers.
Academic Level
Undergraduate student
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-25-2025 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-25-2025 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Best Visuals
Decoding Dolphin Dynamics: Observing Object Play Among Bottlenose Dolphins
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Whereas several studies focused on object play in dolphins, few have examined details about observers, i.e., individuals just watching the play event without participating. It has been suggested that calves and juveniles are more likely to observe others engaging in object play, but not enough evidence has been collected. Object play among bottlenose dolphins at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences was documented from 28 sessions recorded underwater. 692 object play events including observers were analyzed, involving 18 dolphins. We expected calf and juvenile dolphins to be the most frequent observers and longer play bouts to attract a greater number of observing dolphins. Data analyses showed that juveniles were the most frequent observers. However, there was not enough evidence to support the idea of longer play bouts (30-70 s) having a greater chance of attracting observers than shorter bouts (0-30 s). Our result showed that even though juvenile dolphins seem to observe object play more than any other age group, further analyses are required to determine if juveniles are more likely to become actors in the future based on their role as observers.
Students' Information
Samantha Apostolico, Biology Pre-Vet major, Honors, 2026
Sophia Pertoso, Biology Pre-Vet major, 2026
Samantha Gojcaj, Psychology major, 2025
Angelika Falandysza, Psychology Pre-Vet major, 2026
Diego Salles, Biology/Psychology Neuroscience major, 2027