The Human Influence Of Maui Dolphins

There is no debate that one of the most attractive, human friendly and intelligent beauties in nature is the killer whale, more commonly known as the orca. The orca is in the dolphin family, but capable of learning human traits and freely interacting with them without causing any harm. Their curious behavior and acrobatic moves make us enjoy their company through watching and spending time in the waters with them. However, the gradual decline in the population of the orca is a worrying trend that sparks another kind of debate. Our interactions with killer whales is endangering their survival in the ecosystem, which should not be the case (BioExpedition 1). Our interaction with the

Since 1961, 157 orcas, or killer whales, have been ripped from their homes and shoved into captivity. 127 of these orcas are now dead. With the number of captured orcas plus the number of those born into captivity, The W.D.C. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation) reports that, “At least 162 orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or stillborn calves” ( “The Fate”1). Out of the 127 taken into captivity, 44 have died in SeaWorld. There are currently 58 orcas residing in 14 marine parks in eight different countries. 24 of those orcas are held in SeaWorld’s three parks in the United States. Since 2002, 14 have been taken out of the wild and put into these marine parks. (“The Fate”1) It is not fair for these innocent creatures to be physically and mentally manipulated and damaged. Such brutality would not be condoned if it were targeted towards a human, and it should not be condoned when targeted toward an animal. Orca whales should not be held in captivity because they are forced to live in subpar conditions, they are mistreated while in captivity, and they are led to aggressive behavior.

The Dolphins are off to a rough start as they begin the season 0-3. Trying to build a better reputation, the team has been working hard to improve their skills and hopefully come out with a few wins this year. So far nothing consequential has been seen from Dana as they are yet to find the element that will take their team to victory.

There are five teams that are worthy of being called the greatest team in NFL history: the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1984 San Francisco 49’ers, the 2007 Patriots, however the 1985 Chicago Bears stand out amongst the crowd because of their outrageous defense, popularity amongst the NFL fans, and their roster that was filled with Hall of Fame talent. According to the 1985 Chicago Bears Statistics & Players (2017), the team finished with a season record of 15-1. News analyst Tony Andracki (2016) stated that, “The 1985 Bears turned in one of the most dominant seasons in American Sports” (p.1).

Cetaceans use sound extensively in both communication, hunting, and navigation. However as humanity continues to make use of the ocean we are constantly filling it with equipment that produces high amounts of sound. These devices are starting to have an impact on cetaceans worldwide, from mass strandings often linked to military exercises to area denials caused by busy commercial shipping lanes and seismic surveys. If consideration is not taken towards this problem now it could develop into something that could have degrading effects on cetacean populations in the future.

On Thursday, June 22, the Blythe Desert Dolphins hosted their second home swim meet, where they competed against the Brawley Sunstrokers and the Holtville Stingrays at the Palo Verde High School pool.

One way they get their food is by working together. Another way is by trapping their prey onshore. However, they may trap themselves onshore in the process. Bottlenose Dolphins can also use echolocation (using sound to locate things) to get food. Instead of using echolocation, some dolphins use passive listening to get their food. The type of food available to a Bottlenose Dolphin depends on its location. Bottlenose Dolphins eat around 4 to 9 percent of their body weight each day. The predators of Bottlenose Dolphins are large species of sharks and killer

For the first seven months of their training period, the dolphins were acquainted with several gestures and sounds. They were presented with simple two-choice sound-discrimination stimuli to familiarize them with some sounds that the study would use. Correct responses were rewarded with freshly thawed silver smelt fish. The positive reinforcement aimed at developing a positive attitude toward learning and encouraging dolphins to solve problems. Gestural training was also initiated in this period to accustom the dolphins to responses that that would later be expected from them in the study. Akeakamai was made to specialize in gestural

Clicks are high-frequency and directional sounds that are used to detect, discriminate and recognize objects in the environment, including potential preys (Caldwell et al., 1990; Janik, 2013). These clicks are used to locate/discriminate an object based on the returning echo, and the system is known as echolocation or biosonar (Griffin, 1958). Bottlenose dolphins produce high-frequency broadband clicks with dominant frequencies generally higher than 50-60kHz (Au, 1993).

Dolphins have been around a lot longer than humans. They originated about 50 million years ago. The most common dolphin, being the bottlenose dolphin, has been around for 15 million years. Surprisingly, dolphins originated from members of the cetaceans group. Cetaceans used to be land mammals but evolved into being aquatic mammals. In From Land to Water it stated, “The transition from land to water is documented by a series of intermediate fossils from India and Pakistan.” This research helps prove how they used to be land mammals but evolved to live in the ocean. Dolphins are one out of many aquatic mammals who need oxygen, but they need water in order to live. Believe it or not, dolphins are somewhat related to hippos, camels, deer, cattle, and giraffes. In From Land to Water, “ Many features that are

Cetacean bycatch is an ongoing problem in the oceans of the world. Cetaceans are defined as whales, dolphins and porpoises(CBRC 1). Bycatch is “marine mammals that are “captured” but discarded”(Read 2). This happens when fishing industries are fishing for a certain type of marine animal and other marine animals are caught accidentally along with the intended catch. Many times, this leads to the death of the animal that was not meant to be caught, and the animal is tossed back into the ocean. This happens with all kinds of marine life, and it has caused the depletion of many different species. However, this is specifically bad for cetaceans, such as dolphins and whales, because they have such a long lifespan(Brown 2). They also take a very long time to mature(Brown 2). These factors make catching these animals very detrimental to the species as a whole because it takes longer for them to reach an age where they can reproduce(Brown 2). The population of many cetaceans have decreased exponentially. When there is someone watching the nets that cetaceans are accidentally caught in, many times they can be saved. However, there are only select few types of fishing methods that do this, and they are not of the prevalent fishing methods that produce cetacean bycatch. This is a problem because there is a connection between most living animals. If a certain part of the connection is eliminated, it will all fall apart. For example, the relationship between

Transition: After learning about a dolphin’s sense of communication, we can now build upon this information by examining their unique behavior.

Some may ask, “What is a turning point in life?” A turning point is when life turns into a different direction. Turning points aren’t as easy as they sound. Most of the time, turning points are stressful times, but the result of the complex decision is what affects one’s thoughts and possibly the way he/she looks at his/her surroundings. The following will state how Karana (Island of the Blue Dolphins,) Rachel (Eleven,) and Moon Shadow (Dragonwings) faced life changing decisions which impacted their lives.

Another very interesting thing that I have found out in this essay by Regina Blackstock is a case that occurred in 1962 when some Lockheed Aircraft Corporation scientists erected a barrier across a channel with strong microphones. When the dolphins approached it, clicking noises were heard. The dolphins gathered into a group in nearby shallow

Bottlenose dolphins find fish by using echolocation. This is when a dolphin sends out a beam of short sonar pulses from its melon, or forehead. The beam reflects off of fish or other objects and echoes back to the lower jaw. The echoes are then sent to the ear bones where they are characterized. Using echolocation, dolphins are able to locate prey that is buried up to one and a half feet under the sand (Cahill 140-141).