Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not Success
Captive mammals respond emotionally toward cognitive challenges, but research has precluded marine mammals. A potential indicator of emotion in toothed cetaceans is a large singular bubble (‘burst’) emitted from the blowhole, previously linked to surprise and excitement. Our study analysed bursts fr...
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doaj-bfc56d5258cf4f1090d0a4267834b4092021-07-15T15:39:49ZengMDPI AGJournal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens2673-56362021-06-0122028729910.3390/jzbg2020020Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not SuccessElena Alexander0Mark Abrahams1Fay E. Clark2Faculty of Health Sciences, Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS40 5DU, UKDepartment of Field Conservation & Science, Bristol Zoological Society, Bristol BS8 3HA, UKFaculty of Life Sciences, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TU, UKCaptive mammals respond emotionally toward cognitive challenges, but research has precluded marine mammals. A potential indicator of emotion in toothed cetaceans is a large singular bubble (‘burst’) emitted from the blowhole, previously linked to surprise and excitement. Our study analysed bursts from a published study on dolphin cognitive enrichment. Bursts were only produced by task-engaged (72%) or task-spectating (28%) dolphins (<i>n</i> = 6 males in total). Burst frequency increased with the proportion of task engagement and spectator frequency, but not task progress or success (providing no evidence for an instantaneous ‘Eureka moment’). Bursts were reduced in frequency over three weeks, consistent with a decrease in task-engagement. Bursts were significantly more likely to come at the start of a bout of task-engagement than in the middle or end. We suggest bursts were an emotional response signaling dolphins’ instantaneous judgement of the task, more likely related to positive affect (interest, curiosity) than negative affect (frustration). They appear unrelated to respiration. It was unclear whether bursts were produced consciously and had a social function. We call for further dedicated research on the emotional valence of cetacean bursts. This will require simultaneous behavioural and acoustic measurements under different levels of more controlled challenge.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/2/2/20affective stateanimal cognitionanimal welfarecetaceancognitive enrichmentemotion |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Elena Alexander Mark Abrahams Fay E. Clark |
spellingShingle |
Elena Alexander Mark Abrahams Fay E. Clark Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not Success Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens affective state animal cognition animal welfare cetacean cognitive enrichment emotion |
author_facet |
Elena Alexander Mark Abrahams Fay E. Clark |
author_sort |
Elena Alexander |
title |
Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not Success |
title_short |
Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not Success |
title_full |
Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not Success |
title_fullStr |
Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not Success |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bottlenose Dolphins Produce Underwater Bubbles Linked to Cognitive Task Engagement but Not Success |
title_sort |
bottlenose dolphins produce underwater bubbles linked to cognitive task engagement but not success |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |
issn |
2673-5636 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Captive mammals respond emotionally toward cognitive challenges, but research has precluded marine mammals. A potential indicator of emotion in toothed cetaceans is a large singular bubble (‘burst’) emitted from the blowhole, previously linked to surprise and excitement. Our study analysed bursts from a published study on dolphin cognitive enrichment. Bursts were only produced by task-engaged (72%) or task-spectating (28%) dolphins (<i>n</i> = 6 males in total). Burst frequency increased with the proportion of task engagement and spectator frequency, but not task progress or success (providing no evidence for an instantaneous ‘Eureka moment’). Bursts were reduced in frequency over three weeks, consistent with a decrease in task-engagement. Bursts were significantly more likely to come at the start of a bout of task-engagement than in the middle or end. We suggest bursts were an emotional response signaling dolphins’ instantaneous judgement of the task, more likely related to positive affect (interest, curiosity) than negative affect (frustration). They appear unrelated to respiration. It was unclear whether bursts were produced consciously and had a social function. We call for further dedicated research on the emotional valence of cetacean bursts. This will require simultaneous behavioural and acoustic measurements under different levels of more controlled challenge. |
topic |
affective state animal cognition animal welfare cetacean cognitive enrichment emotion |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/2/2/20 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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