Example research essay topic: Dolphins Current Behavior Dolphins Are Self Aware Martin Dolphin - 1,456 words

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The voice of the dolphin in the air is like that of the human in that they can pronounce vowels and combinations of vowels, but have difficulties with the consonants (Aristotle internet). The communication between dolphins can only be described scientifically and historically. The true nature of how dolphins communicate with one another and possibly with other species is something only known to the dolphin. It is an evolving, complex mystery we are only now starting to grasp the significance of. Eventually it may be possible for humans to speak with other species. I have come to this conclusion after careful consideration of evidence gained through my research experiments with dolphins (John Lilly internet).

In this research paper evidence will be shown to prove that it is possible for dolphins and humans to communicate in a significant and meaningful way. Since the beginning of recorded history, it has been said that man has had an interest in dolphins. People from many countries have met and interacted with them. It has been well documented that dolphins have saved lives, assisted sailors in navigating through storms, and have supported fisherman in their daily catch.

The earliest incident of drowning that was saved by a dolphin that researchers know of is that of the Greek poet Arion, who was thrown into the sea by pirates. The dolphin carried him home to Greece on its back. This legend was recalled in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (Walther 39). It is noted that it was a dolphin who had found a wife for Neptune, the Sea god (Walther 39). The Greek philosopher Plutrach states that through the help of a dolphin Telemachos, son of Odysseus, was saved from drowning. Pliny the elder, the Roman scholar, wrote about Hermias, a boy who often took rides on a dolphins back.

One day while out with the dolphin, a storm hit and Hermias slipped off the dolphins back and drowned. The dolphin brought Hermias body to the shore and beached himself over the grief of Hermias death and died. It has been recorded that for twenty-four years a male dolphin guided every boat safely across the dangerous Cook Strait in New Zealand, day and night (Dolphin Synergy internet). It is thought that the dolphin was an animal who years ago tried to live on land and didnt like it. Scientists think that dolphins are descended from a four-legged hairy animal that returned to the sea, making them re-entrants (Brooks 7 - 8). It has now been proven that sixty million years ago the dolphins ancestor was the cow.

Cows are the distant cousins to the dolphins and the whales. Fossils have been found, showing the missing link with hooves on its flippers (Dolphins video). The body of a dolphin can be described as sleek and smooth. Dolphins are extremely fast swimmers, and their blubbery flesh allows them to reach speeds over twenty-five miles per hour. Dolphins can be identified by blowholes on top their heads, fore-fins, and horizontal flukes.

Unlike fish, dolphins are mammals and must come to the surface to breathe, about every five minutes. Some dolphins can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes while others can only hold it for twenty seconds. Their ears are small openings that are hardly noticeable, but are able to pick up sounds more than 150 feet away. Dolphins vocalize underwater by using a series of clicks and whistles.

Dolphins appear to have their own signature whistle, like their own name. Individuals recognize each other by their own voices, and can mimic sounds of other animals. They have no vocal cords, but are able to make sounds by moving air through the lungs with the blowhole closed underwater. Also dolphins have sonar, the ability to see underwater with sound (Dolphins video). It is well known that by using sonar dolphins can see through one another, getting a better understanding of who they are. Dolphins are very sociable, playful, and friendly.

Dolphins spend their lives with a pod, which is a close family / social group consisting of a few males, females and their offspring. They cooperate with each other when hunting or catching fish. They are constantly talking and communicating with each other, showing affection, and other emotions. A hurt or wounded dolphin is always taken care of by others, even at risks to their own lives (Brooks 5 - 6). Others in the group will take turns lifting the wounded to the surface for air, taking turns until it gets well again or until death. During birth, the mother is always assisted by another female called an Auntie.

She is there to help fend off sharks and to push the calf directly to the surface for air the minute it is born. Other females gather around forming what is believed to be a protection circle, and is used as a defense against sharks and orcas. The mothers and their young will reside in the circle while the others leap out to butt the gills and heads of sharks, sometimes killing it. Over 70 % of the Earths surface are covered by ocean and there might be intelligence far beyond our own (Lilly internet).

Dolphins have the highest brain capacity of any non-human animal, twice that of higher primates (Herman internet). The bottlenose dolphins brain is physically more folded than any other mammal, including humans. Its cerebral cortex, however, is only half as thick as humans, but thicker than a chimps. This is a sure sign of higher intelligence. Ken Martin and Earth Trust Laboratory studies dolphin intelligence. He wants to see what dolphins see and what they reveal about themselves when they are not trained.

Martin believes that dolphins have a higher intelligence and tried to prove it with research. He says that dolphins are always doing hydrodynamic tricks. They create air rings that is a matter of experimentation and complex play. This is an indication of an interested active brain and shows that dolphins have the capacity to learn. To prove that dolphins are self-aware, Martin did a mark test. He put a zinc oxide mark on the dolphins side, and put up a one-way mirror in the observation tank window.

This was done to see of the dolphin would notice the mark in their reflection and examine himself in the mirror. He immediately went to the mirror and moved around with the mark facing the mirror. When the dolphin saw himself in the mirror, his reaction less surprise than to a strange dolphin. The dolphin turns and shows his teeth to check the relation between himself and his mirror image.

The dolphin usually brings objects to the mirror and plays with it, and is seemingly more self-aware when playing with the object in front of the mirror. Martin comments that this is not social behavior, and since dolphins dont have hands to touch the mark, researchers need to require more experimentation to see if this behavior was social or not. Martin wanted to determine if they could watch TV before he did a test. Do they see images or actual pictures? The TV shows an attendant throwing fish into the water, as dolphins bite and squeal as they are being fed; and the dolphins see this as a representation of reality. Next, a TV with a highly reflective screen was used, the screen acting like a mirror when the TV was off.

So the dolphins current behavior was similar to that of the dolphin on the TV screen. Martin turned the TV on to see how the dolphins would react to the TVs images that were not similar to the dolphins current behavior. The dolphins could react differently to the images playing on the TV screen, and realize that it is now a mirror. If the dolphins were not self-aware when watching the playback, they would be biting back when the dolphin in the TVs mouth was open. Research shows that they would not behave in such a manner when the dolphins are self-aware (Martin internet). Dolphins have been known to use a variety of hunting techniques to catch fish.

Fish kicking, the technique of hitting a fish with its tail, is a local custom among dolphins and appears to be a learned behavior rather than instinct. One interesting example involves two captive dolphins intent upon capturing a moray eel from a rocky slit in the corner of their tank. One dolphin captures a scorpion fish and with the fish in its mouth it poked the eels rear end with the fish's poisonous spine. The moray fled from its haven only to be captured by the second dolphin stationed at the opposite end of the hole (Walter internet). This example proves that dolphins c...

Research essay sample on Dolphins Current Behavior Dolphins Are Self Aware Martin Dolphin