Bottlenose dolphins develop and use unique signature whistles that function like individual names, allowing group members to identify, call and refer to specific individuals within their complex social networks.
What are signature whistles
Signature whistles are distinct frequency‑modulated whistle patterns produced by individual dolphins. Calves develop their own distinctive whistle early in life and use it throughout adulthood as an acoustic identifier that other dolphins learn and recognise.
How they are used
Dolphins emit signature whistles to attract attention, maintain contact when separated, coordinate social interactions and even to refer to absent group members. Playback experiments and observational studies show that hearing a known signature whistle prompts specific social responses directed at the named individual.
Evidence and research
Decades of acoustic recordings, controlled playback experiments and field observations provide strong evidence that signature whistles are learned, individually distinctive and used referentially by dolphins, making them one of the clearest examples of name‑like vocal labels outside humans.
Quick related facts
- Origin: calves develop unique signature whistles early in life
- Function: individual identification; contact calling; social reference
- Evidence: playback studies elicit directed responses to specific whistles
- Social role: supports bonding, coordination and memory in fluid groups
- Significance: a rare example of name‑like signals in nonhuman animals