Male dolphins form alliances with their peers and cultivate friendship through physical contact and communication, as this gives them greater chances of reproducing.
I male dolphins they are known for their alliances, created to patrol the territory and to herd fertile females.
The behavior of these mammals has been studied for over 40 years to understand their organization and the links between different specimens.
Over the years it has been understood that dolphins are capable of to communicate with each other through a specific language with which they are able to get in touch even at long distances.
Now, the researchers found that the dolphin's social network has a great evolutionary advantage: dolphins with more friends are able to generate more offspring.
THEfriendship among male specimens in nature it is not so widespread. Generally the males compete for the territory and for the females and very rarely cooperate with each other.
Male dolphins are one of the few exceptions and begin to form relationships with each other shortly after leaving their mother, at around three years old. At that point they create alliances with their fellow men, with which they are not related.
Relationships between dolphins are nurtured and nurtured through physical contact and communication.
In fact, dolphins strengthen their bonds by calling each other with characteristic whistles that they learn from their mother and that serve them to identify themselves. When one dolphin calls another dolphin, the second one responds within a second with another whistle and this exchange strengthens their bond.
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Communication can take place even if the two animals are at a distance equal to or greater than ten meters. The whistles are very specific and, if a dolphin tries to imitate that of another of its kind, the whistle is perceived as "unreliable" and gets no response.
Another interesting aspect is that communication only takes place between specimens of the same group, as well as physical contact.
But why do dolphins create alliances with each other? Teaming up in groups is more likely to conquer a female and reproduce, this new study shows.
Thanks to alliances, groups of up to 14 males are fighting for females against other groups. Alliances can last for decades and sometimes include more than one group.
La search, carried out by biologist Livia Gerber, of the University of New South Wales and her colleagues, analyzed the factors capable of positively influencing the reproduction of male dolphins.
By studying the data collected over 30 years on 10 alliances made up of 85 males, the 2 most popular males were identified, ie those with the strongest and most numerous ties with other males.
Precisely these males, those with the most friends, had the greatest number of descendants. The quantity of bonds would therefore contribute to the reproductive success and this would be the reason that pushes the dolphins to create one social network and to cultivate it.
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Sources of reference: Science
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