Stan Kuczaj

• University of Southern Mississippi

Dolphins are frequently described as curious animals; however, there have been few systematic investigations of how dolphins behave when they are curious and the extent to which individual differences in curiosity exist in dolphins. Previous research has described individual differences in dolphins’ frequency of interactions with environmental enri...

The preference for utilizing certain appendages (handedness) has been explored in a variety of vertebrate species. Similar to primates, dolphins possess hemispheres that allow an individual to present behaviorally dominant features and appendages (i.e., pectoral fins) that are utilized both as social facilitators, as well as means to interact with...

The rearing and socialization of bottlenose dolphin calves has been largely described as a female role, whether via direct maternal care or allomaternal parenting. Nevertheless, male associations have been observed but are rarely systematically investigated. This case study focused on the opportunistic occurrence of a single bottlenose calf and her...

Social structures are critical to the success of many species and have repercussions on health, well-being, and adaptation, yet little is known about the factors which shape these structures aside from ecology and life history strategies. Dyadic bonds are the basis of all social structures; however, mechanisms for formations of specific bonds or pa...

Wild bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) behavior is impacted by a number of factors including season, time of day, and age. However, less is known about how these factors may influence animals under professional care in zoos, aquariums and marine parks. Management practices such as scheduled feeding times, human interactions, lack of predators...

The population of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is currently a topic of conservation efforts. Understanding the mating behaviors of a species can be utilized in conservation efforts to preserve the species. Little is known about the behavioral repertoire of Pacific walruses, due to their isolated Arctic habitats, with limited stu...

Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinerea) demonstrate remarkable hand dexterity when gathering and consuming prey, but little is known about their ability to use objects as tools. The present study used a tool choice paradigm in which six Asian small-clawed otters were tested individually and presented with two identical hook-shaped tools. For each...

Discussion of study results examining personality in bottle.nose dolphins and their relationship to dominance

Although many species have proven capable of cooperating to achieve common goals, the role of communication in cooperation has received relatively little attention. Analysis of communication between partners is vital in determining whether actions are truly cooperative rather than serendipitous or learned via trial and error (Chalmeau and Gallo in...

Although many species have proven capable of cooperating to achieve common goals, the role of communication in cooperation has received relatively little attention. Analysis of communication between partners is vital in determining whether actions are truly cooperative rather than serendipitous or learned via trial and error (Chalmeau and Gallo in...

Environmental enrichment is used to improve an animal's physical and psychological well-being while housed in a captive environment. Alligood and Leighty (2015) suggested that enrichment that emulates the natural and preferred behaviors of the species may be optimal for improving welfare. Cognitive tasks that mirror challenges in an animal's natura...

Marine mammals have become the focus of many conservation efforts with the intention of protecting them from potentially detrimental anthropogenic effects occurring in the ocean. This research study focused on a population of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Mississippi Sound with the goal of quantifying behavioral responses...

The Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center (LADC) was formed in early 2001 to utilize Environmental Acoustic Recording System (EARS) buoys developed by the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) which has provided technical guidance and support to LADC. The purpose of LADC is to make environmental measurements, which is not part of the mission of N...

Responses to novelty may differ among individuals as a function of age, sex, and/or the presence of offspring, and understanding how marine mammals respond to novel stimuli is critical to management. In this study, 20 captive Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were exposed to a novel object, consisting of PVC pipes and either a non-r...

The characteristics of vocal development in dolphin neonates are largely unknown. This study focused on whistle production in three bottlenose dolphin calves during the first thirty days of life in order to further the understanding of the early emergence of whistle-type vocalizations. Hydrophone and video coupled data allowed us to assess acoustic...

Dolphins engage in diverse foraging strategies that can involve cooperation, tools, and even the use of behaviors to prepare prey items for consumption. However, the development of such behaviors by individual animals has rarely been studied, and so it is typically unknown if the behaviors were serendipitous or learned through observation, teaching...

Experts survey the latest research on dolphin communication and cognition, offering a comprehensive reference to findings in the laboratory and from the field. Dolphin researchers have collected an impressive amount of data over the last twenty years, thanks to advances in technology for monitoring, recording, and analyzing dolphin behavior as well...

This report describes the epimeletic (or "caregiving") behavior produced by members of a group of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and the possible role of the ailing animal's distress call in eliciting such behavior. Epimeletic behavior in cetaceans most typically involves forms of support provided to a distressed, injured, or dyi...

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are a highly promiscuous species that routinely engage in socio-sexual interactions, yet relatively little has been reported about actual estrus behavior. For this study of three female dolphins located at two aquarium facilities, 20 reproductive behaviors were investigated during three conceptive estrous cy...

Dolphin calves often wander away from their mothers, which can compromise their safety and survival. Mothers can retrieve their calves by actively pursuing them or by signaling their wandering calves to return. However, little is known about the retrieval techniques employed by mothers in specific calf recall contexts. We experimentally investigate...

Although many species have proven capable of cooperating to achieve common goals, the role of communication in cooperation has received relatively little attention, despite its importance. Analysis of communication between partners is vital in determining whether actions are cooperative rather than serendipitous or learned via trial and error (Chal...

Cooperative behavior has been observed in cetacean species in a variety of situations, including foraging, mate acquisition, play, and epimeletic behavior. However, it has proven difficult to demonstrate cooperative behavior among dolphins in more controlled settings. Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in this study were exposed to a task that could mos...

The present study examined the activity budgets of 15 African elephants (1 bull, 6 cows, 2 male juveniles, 2 female juveniles, and 4 male calves) living at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park during the summers of 2010 and 2011. Onsite behavioral data (n = 600 hr) were collected for approximately 12 weeks from 0400 to 0830 and 1100 to 2400 during the 201...

Lateralization of cognitive processes and motor functions has been demonstrated in a number of species, including humans, elephants, and cetaceans. For example, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have exhibited preferential eye use during a variety of cognitive tasks. The present study investigated the possibility of visual lateralization in...

Play is an important aspect of dolphin life, perhaps even an essential one. Play provides opportunities for dolphin calves to practice and perfect locomotor skills, including those involved in foraging and mating strategies and behaviors. Play also allows dolphin calves to learn important social skills and acquire information about the characterist...

Cetaceans demonstrate considerable ingenuity in their play with bubbles. Both wild and captive cetaceans have been reported to manipulate self-produced bubbles (Delfour. The spread of unique and novel play behaviors across a group may involve social learning as well as trial and error learning (Kuczaj et al., 2006; Kuczaj, Yeater, & Highfill, 2012;...

The "creative dolphin" revisited: What do dolphins do when asked to vary their behavior? Animal Behavior and Cognition, 1(1), 66-77. doi: Abstract -The variability of dolphin behavior is evident in their communication, foraging, and play. Dolphins can also vary their behavior when asked to do so by humans. Following the work of Karen Pryor and her...

Fo r the young of many species, social play is an important aspect of development. Previous research has shown that bottlenose dolphin calves engage in social play early in life. Despite these observations, little is known about the development of social play in this species . The present study examined the social play behavior of three aquarium-ho...

Fo r the young of many species, social play is an important aspect of development. Previous research has shown that bottlenose dolphin calves engage in social play early in life. Despite these observations, little is known about the development of social play in this species . The present study examined the social play behavior of three aquarium-ho...

Little is known about the social structure of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), but general knowledge of dolphin social structure suggests that individual dolphins often engage in multiple social relationships. In the wild, rough-toothed dolphins often swim in tight subgroups, consistent with the notion that social bonds and proximity to...

Cognitive enrichment is gaining popularity as a tool to enhance captive animal well-being, but research on captive cetaceans is lacking. Dolphin cognition has been studied intensively since the 1950s, and several hundred bottlenose dolphins are housed in major zoos and aquaria worldwide, but most dolphin enrichment consists of simple floating objec...

Acute catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, have various degrees of impact on marine mammal populations. Although changes in environmental conditions of affected areas have been examined for many storms, little attention has been given to the ecological effects on top-level predators. A longitudinal study on bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus...

Little is known about how children perceive themselves while wearing facial masks; how they perceive another person who is wearing a facial mask; or how they believe another person perceives them when they are wearing facial masks. This aspect of the appearance-reality distinction was studied in 60 children, 20 in each of three age groups: 4, 4.5,...

Dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs are two types of education programs within zoological institutions used to educate visitors about dolphins and the marine environment. The current study examined the short- and long-term effects of these programs on visitors' conservation-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Participants of both...

Pioneering studies of animal personality appeared in the 1970s (e.g., Adamec, 1975; Buirski, Plutchik, & Kellerman, 1978; Stevenson-Hinde & Zunz, 1978). These studies proposed personality differences and examined behavioral tendencies that would be predicative of those personality traits. These studies began a surge of interest in consistent indivi...

Scientific speculations concerning the sophistication of dolphin communication systems have contributed to the notion that meaningful two-way communication between dolphins and humans is possible. This notion has garnered considerable support in the media and popular literature, resulting in an enduring myth that dolphins and humans can communicate...

Distance sampling principles were utilized to examine population density and abundance for bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) in the Mississippi Sound. Information was collected during summer and winter to allow for examination of habitat utilization and abundance during two different seasons. Within the study area of the Mississippi Sound...

Scientific speculations concerning the sophistication of dolphin communication systems have contributed to the notion that meaningful two-way communication between dolphins and humans is possible. This notion has garnered considerable support in the media and popular literature, resulting in an enduring myth that dolphins and humans can communicate...

In order to test the validity of a Five Factor Model of personality on horses, a questionnaire was replicated from a previous study, with an added option of don’t know to the traditional 5-point Likert scale. Raters responded to seventeen items of the 60-item scale with don’t know responses greater than 10% of the time and these seventeen items wer...

Behavioral research within zoological institutions (zoos and aquariums) has a long history that has helped to increase basic scientific knowledge and to facilitate the ability of institutions to make informed animal management decisions. Kleiman (1992) stated that "behavior research in zoos has enormous potential to contribute positively to the sci...

The most important feature in interpreting observed emotions in both humans and animals is the context in which the assumed emotion occurs. The same can be said for play. Wrestling between two individuals can be interpreted as either aggressive or playful depending on the amount of self-handicapping, mutual pauses, and damaging fighting tactics tha...

Although emotions have proven difficult to define, they nonetheless influence the lives of humans and non-human animals. Processing emotions is particularly important for members of species with dynamic social lives. For such animals, the ability to recognize and respond to the emotional states of others facilitates successful social interactions....

One of the tenets of personality is that an individual's distinguishing behavioral characteristics are relatively stable over time and across contexts. Both humans and animals demonstrate such consistency, at least for certain personality traits. However, the relative extent to which personality is stable is rarely addressed in studies of animal pe...

1. Distance sampling principles were utilized to examine population density and abundance for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Mississippi Sound. Information was collected during summer and winter to allow for examination of habitat utilization and abundance during two different seasons. 2. Within the study area of the Mississippi So...

At Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California, an aquarium-born, sexually mature, nulliparous female killer whale is occasionally housed with a sexually mature, male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Although it is rare for these two delphinids (oceanic dolphins) to sexually associate in the wild (Jefferson et al., 1991), th...

Social learning is an important aspect of dolphin social life and dolphin behavioral development. In addition to vocal social learning, dolphins discover behaviors for foraging, play, and social interactions by observing other members of their social group. But dolphins neither indiscriminately observe nor mindlessly mimic other dolphins. To the co...

One of the tenets of personality is that an individual's distinguishing behavioral characteristics are relatively stable over time and across contexts. Both humans and animals demonstrate such consistency, at least for certain personality traits. However, the relative extent to which personality is stable is rarely addressed in studies of animal pe...

Observations of courtship behaviors and copulation in two, captive populations of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were utilized to assess male mating strategies. Data were collected opportunistically on courtship and copulation over a seven-year period, including information on time of day, season, age, intercopulatory interval, p...

Dolphins routinely use sound for social purposes, foraging and navigating. These sounds are most commonly classified as whistles (tonal, frequency modulated, typical frequencies 5-10 kHz) or clicks (impulsed and mostly ultrasonic). However, some low frequency sounds have been documented in several species of dolphins. Low frequency sounds produced...

Stereotypic behavior is observed in many species within zoological institutions. Attempts to reduce such behavior typically involve some form of environmental enrichment that provides opportunities for species appropriate behavior or some degree of control within the environment. However, environmental enrichment has never been completely successfu...

Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops trucatus) are found in zoos and aquaria throughout the world. As the number of facilities with dolphin shows and interaction programmes increases, it becomes more important to understand the effects of such programmes on dolphin behaviour. The present study examined the short-term effects of dolphin shows and...

Understanding the evolution of brain lateralisation including the origin of human visual laterality requires an understanding of brain lateralisation in related animal species. However, little is known about the visual laterality of marine mammals. To help correct this lack, we evaluated the influence of familiarity with a human on the visual respo...

Recordings of the acoustic activity of free-swimming groups of echolocating dolphins increase the likelihood of collecting overlapping click trains, originating from multiple individuals, in the same set of data. In order to evaluate the click properties of each individual based on such recordings it is necessary to identify which clicks originate...

Many of the threats to bottlenose dolphins are anthropogenic factors including overfishing, high-speed boats, chemical runoff, and noise pollution. Having a thorough understanding of the behavior and behavioral patterns of these animals can help with conservation plans to protect this species. This study examined the behavioral states and behaviora...

Acoustic characteristics related to contour of the whistle (such as highest and lowest frequency, beginning and ending frequency, whistle duration, and number of turns) of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) whistles were measured to test whether any of the measurements were related to the behavioral state of the dolphins when the whistle was r...

Tactile exchanges involving the pectoral fin have been documented in a variety of dolphin species. Several functions (e.g., social, hygienic) have been offered as possible explanations for when and why dolphins exchange pectoral fin contacts. In this study, we compared pectoral fin contact between dolphin dyads from three distinct dolphin populatio...

The ability to plan one's behavior in novel and appropriate ways when confronted with new problems has been found in members of relatively few species. This ability provides significant evolutionary advantages in that the planner can mentally assess possible solutions prior to implementing one of them, and so need not risk life and limb by muddling...

Although considerable advances have been made in our understanding of marine mammals in the past few decades, there are still many more questions than answers. Attempts to answer these questions will rely on information from both captive and wild populations. The purposes of this special issue and the one to follow it are to: (1) highlight the sign...

Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center (LADC) scientists have investigated sperm and beaked whale clicks as recorded on Environmental Acoustic Recording System (EARS) buoys to analyze whale behavior and the possibility of identifying individual whales acoustically. The research began in 2001 and continues through the present. LADC has conducted thr...

Detailed echolocation behavior studies on free-swimming dolphins require a measurement system that incorporates multiple hydrophones (often >16). However, the high data flow rate of previous systems has limited their usefulness since only minute long recordings have been manageable. To address this problem, this report describes a 47-channel burst-...

The nature and extent of dolphin intelligence has long intrigued humans. Unequivocal answers to the question “how intelligent are dolphins?” have proven evasive due to both the existing myriad views of intelligence and the ambiguity of much spontaneous dolphin behavior. In this paper, we focus on one aspect of intelligence, namely the ability to pl...

Previous research to identify individual sperm and beaked whales from the properties of their echolocation and coda clicks using cluster analysis has been reported. Although reasonably consistent and robust results showing distinct classes (each corresponding to an individual) have been obtained with both self-organizing maps and K-means, no indepe...

EARS buoys were developed as autonomous, moored, underwater recording systems by the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) to make long-term ocean ambient noise measurements. When the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center (LADC) was formed as a consortium of university and U.S. Navy scientists in 2001, the buoys were capable of measuring up to 10...

Contact behaviour involving the pectoral fin has been documented in a number of dolphin species, and various explanations about its function have been offered. Pectoral fin contact can take a variety of forms, and involves a number of body parts and movements, likely differing depending upon social or ecological context. For this study, we compare...

Animal personality research has become increasingly popular over the past few decades. The two main methods used to examine individual differences in animals are rating and coding. The rating method involves human scoring of an animal's behavioral tendencies along various behavioral dimensions, such ratings are typically based on the human rater's...

Acoustic signals are an important aspect of a young dolphin’s life. For example, dolphin mothers may use a distress whistle to warn a wandering infant to return. However, the maternal use of non-urgent calls to maintain proximity to a calf has not been systematically investigated. Given that some situations are more precarious than others, dolphin...

The rearing and socialization of bottlenose dolphins calves has been described as an exclusively female role, whether via direct maternal care or allomaternal parenting. This study focused on the role of paternal care and male socialization of a calf in a captive setting, with an emphasis on male kinship bonding with his offspring. Observations wer...

Bottlenose dolphins' phonations are commonly divided into three major categories: whistles, echolocation clicks, and burst pulses. Other categories are often mentioned and described as yelps, squawks, barks, and low-frequency narrowband sounds. Here, we report the occurrence of low-frequency tonal phonations with fundamental frequency within the 50...

Much research on dolphin echolocation has focused on animals that have been trained to remain stationary or to carry a device that allows the animals to move but restricts the location of the sonar beam. In such cases, a small number of hydrophones measures sonar characteristics while dolphins solve echolocation tasks. As a result, much is known ab...

Measuring the impact of anthropogenic factors on marine mammals is critical to the conservation of these species. Recently, the effect of personal watercraft on marine mammal behaviour and well-being has become a topic of increasing concern. The purpose of this study was to examine the immediate effects of high-speed personal watercraft on Atlantic...

Investigations of the bottlenose dolphin's acoustic repertoire have mainly focused on whistles and echolocation clicks. However, despite their widespread occurrence, burst pulses have not received much attention. The primary function of burst pulses remains unknown and a comparative analysis can be used to advance our knowledge of the function of b...

In this descriptive study, the potentially communicative functions of non-vocal behaviors produced by two species of dolphin, Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose (Tursiops aduncus), were examined in the context of three focal events: depart (one or more dolphins depart company of others), join (two or more dolphins com...

Abstract Psychologists have long been interested in the role of individual differences in the behavior of many species, particularly consistent differences that might,reflect temperament,or personality. Only recently has animal personality become,an impor- tant and credible topic of research, however. In an effort to add to the literature on animal...

Local dive shop operators and fishermen report that rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) are frequently encountered off the coast of Utila, Honduras, (16°05'46.5"N 86°55'47.8"W). Our observations suggest that at least some of these animals may constitute a resident population, although the extent of the resident group's home range has not bee...

The imitative ability of nonhuman animals has intrigued a number of scholars and, in doing so, has generated a considerable amount of contro- versy. Although it is clear that many species can learn via observational learning, there is a lack of consensus concerning both what sorts of things can be learned by watching others and what types of observ...

Clicks collected from an echolocating bottlenose dolphin completing a search task were compared in order to determine if the clicks produced when the dolphin was acquiring the target differed from the clicks produced when the dolphin was searching for the target. The clicks produced by a free‐swimming dolphin completing the search task were recorde...

We agree that human culture is unique. However, we also believe that an understanding of the evolution of culture requires a comparative approach. We offer examples of collaborative behaviors from dolphin play, and argue that consideration should be given to whether various forms of culture are best viewed as falling along a continuum or as discret...