Combined Stimulus Control of Peak Frequency and Source Level in the Echolocating Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Abstract
Past echolocation research demonstrated control over the dolphin's echolocation emissions in a binary (on/off) condition. The dolphin performed a discrimination task while its echolocation output was under stimulus control of an underwater tone. The animal learned to echolocate during the presence of the tone and to remain silent if no tone was given. Mackay used two Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) to determine the dolphin's capability to control whistle emissions in the 5-16 kHz range. Using automatic feeders activated by specific frequency ranges, Mackay showed that dolphins could control the frequency of their whistles. Recent research revealed behavioral control can also be obtained over the source level of the echolocating dolphin. Moore and Patterson trained a dolphin to perform a detection task while under operant control of its emitted source levels. Dolphin clicks are short duration (10 to 100 microsec) wide band transients. It is thought that the target, to a large extent, dictates the click emission parameters of frequency and amplitude. Past research shows that dolphins control the repetition rate of emitted clicks as a function of target range, but the capability of the dolphin to independently control both the frequency and source level of their clicks has never been demonstrated. Presented at 15th Annual Conference of the International Marine Animal Trainers Association, 26-30 October 1987, New Orleans, Louisiana. Keywords: Marine biosystems; Marine biology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA197544
Entities
People
- Deborah A. Pawloski
- Patrick W. Moore