What is a little-known but extraordinary fact about dolphins ?
We ’ ll give you three !
humans on a human scale of judgment ). Dolphins are known to have complex communication . They are also able to teach and learn skills , such as surgically depredating fish from lines , and to use of ‘ tools ’ to forage for food . They ’ ve been documented using sponges as face protection while foraging among corals in Australia .
Can you characterize the dolphin ’ s faculty of echolocation ?
In short , dolphins echolocate by producing short clicks using two air pockets located near their blowhole that are tuned and directed through their bulbous forehead , which is really a large fat deposit called a melon . When the click bounces off something and comes back to the dolphin , it is received into another fat pad in the lower jaw next to the ear where it then travels to and is interpreted by the brain .
A note on reporting marine mammals in distress :
1 . Dolphins can be aged using their teeth . They have only one set of teeth throughout their lives ( unlike humans who have two ), and deposit new layers of dentin annually . When an animal dies and strands , we can save some teeth , slice them in half and count the internal growth layer groups — just like counting the rings of a tree .
These layers of organic and inorganic material also record information about the external environment so that we know the conditions in which the animal was living . The really cool aspect of this research — which our lab carries out — is that it allows us to relate the environmental data to specific years of the animal ’ s life . Also , when we know the time of death , we can relate the layers to specific years in time . This approach allows us to do things like trace exposure to freshwater that might periodically cause stress throughout the animal ’ s life .
2 . All of a dolphin ’ s skin sloughs every 2 hours — 12 times a day !
3 . Dolphins have special adaptations to live in saltwater . Their kidneys are “ reniculated ,” which means that they have many small kidneys clustered together to form one large kidney like a bunch of grapes . This allows them to be extremely efficient in recovering freshwater from their food . Because of this adaptation , dolphins do not need to directly drink freshwater .
Extra bone fact ! Dolphins have ossified sternal ribs . In humans , we have cartilage that connects the tips of our ribs to our sternum . In dolphins , these connections are ossified with bone and provide additional hinges in the dolphin ribcage to allow contracting for deep diving .
For marine mammals in the Southeastern United States : Please report manatees , whales , and dolphins in distress or stranded at 1-877-WHALE-help ( 1-877-942-5343 ). Callers can select the specific state for their report . Specifically for manatees : In Florida , please report to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ( FWC ) at 1-888-404-3922 . In Mississippi and Alabama : Please report to Dauphin Island Sea Lab ’ s Manatee Sighting Network at 1-866-493-5803 .
For more information on the Dauphin Island Sea Lab , visit : DISL . edu .
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