Collateral Behaviors and Rhythmic Patterns in Dolphin Echolocation
Abstract
An echolocating dolphin is not a stationary sonar device; it is a highly mobile actively scanning, living, breathing organism. As the animal echolocates, it is also swimming. In addition, it may be swinging its head to and fro, rolling on one side, opening its mouth, or engaging in any number of other behaviors, overt or subtle. It may even be moving its sound beam internally, within the forehead. These movement patterns have, in general, been mentioned only in passing in the literature. In fact, most echolocation studies have specifically sought to restrain the animal, usually by having it station on a bite plate or chin cup, so the sound source could be more precisely located. We believe, however, that such collateral behaviors are a vital component of echolocation. Furthermore, the rhythms imposed by its movement patterns may provide the animal with a means of structuring the sound stream, of dividing it into analyzable segments, somewhat as we use the rhythms of our breath stream to impose patterns of stress and intonation in our speech.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA246420
Entities
People
- Carol Howard
- Kenneth Marten
- Kenneth S. Norris
- Michelle Wells
- Randall S Wells
Organizations
- University of California, Riverside