A division of labour with role specialization in group–hunting bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) off Cedar Key, Florida

Individual role specialization during group hunting is extremely rare in mammals. Observations on two groups of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Cedar Key, Florida revealed distinctive behavioural roles during group feeding. In each group, one individual was consistently the 'driver&...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2005-01, Vol.272 (1559), p.135-140
Main Authors: Gazda, Stefanie K., Connor, Richard C., Edgar, Robert K., Cox, Frank
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal feeding behavior
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Cooperation
Cooperative Behavior
Division of labor
Division Of Labour
Dolphin
Dolphins
Dolphins - psychology
Feeding
Fish feeding
Fish trapping
Florida
Foraging
Herding
Keys
Lion hunting
Mammals
Marine
Predatory Behavior
Social Behavior
Tursiops truncatus
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Summary:Individual role specialization during group hunting is extremely rare in mammals. Observations on two groups of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Cedar Key, Florida revealed distinctive behavioural roles during group feeding. In each group, one individual was consistently the 'driver', herding the fishes in a circle toward the remaining 'barrier' dolphins. Aerial fish-capture rates differed between groups, as well as between the driver and barrier dolphins, in one group but not in the other. These differences between the two groups may reflect differences in group stability or in prey school size.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2004.2937