Dolphin Tool UseBiology 342 Fall 2010Sarah Wesley & Morgan Movius |
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Tool Use in Bottlenose DolphinsShark Bay Dolphins Use Marine Sponges in Foraging BehaviorTool use was once considered an ability possessed only by humans. However, it has been shown that a number of different animals use tools, including primates, elephants, otters, several bird species, and dolphins. Once one individual has developed tool use, the ability is culturally transmitted to other individuals. This is why many animals that use tools live in highly social communities, where frequent contact with other individuals facilitates learning. A behavioral trait such as tool use is considered to vary culturally if it is acquired through social learning from members of its species, and is repeatedly transmitted across generations. Cultural transmission can occur vertically (from parents to children), horizontally (between peers) or obliquely (from adults to children who are not their offspring).
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