Conspecific "gaze following" in bottlenose dolphins

Area of Science:

• Ethology
• Animal Behavior
• Marine Mammal Cognition

Background:

• Gaze following, observing another's orientation and re-orienting similarly, is documented across species.
• Previous dolphin research primarily focused on human-dolphin interactions, not conspecific social cues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate conspecific gaze following in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
• To determine if dolphins adjust their behavior based on observing conspecifics' orientation towards environmental features.

Main Methods:

• Synchronous video recording of seven bottlenose dolphins using six underwater cameras over 21 hours.
• Trained observers analyzed recordings, noting animal identity, partner status, and changes in gate access.
• Quantified instances of gaze following and associated behavioral changes.

Main Results:

• Witnessing an increase in another dolphin's gate access significantly increased the likelihood of a similar increase by the observer (460 instances observed).
• Partnered dolphins were significantly more likely to exhibit gaze following than non-partnered individuals.
• Dolphins tended to match the type of gate access observed in conspecifics.

Conclusions:

• Findings provide strong evidence for conspecific gaze following in bottlenose dolphins.
• Social context, specifically partnership, influences the propensity to engage in gaze following.
• Bottlenose dolphins join a growing list of species demonstrating this complex social behavior.