Marine Mammal

A minimally invasive marine mammal sex determination method using epidermal tissue recovered from suction-cup tags (2025)

For many baleen whales, minimal sexual dimorphism means that sex cannot necessarily be reliably determined through observation alone. Suction cup tags deployed for behavioral studies of free-ranging whales sometimes retain exfoliated epidermal tissue from the tagged animal that can potentially...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Novak, S. X., Linsky, J. M. J., Knapp, K. J. et al. 2025. A minimally invasive marine mammal sex determination method using epidermal tissue recovered from suction-cup tags. PLOS ONE 20(5), e0323658.

Anecdotal Observations of Socially Learned Vocalizations in Harbor Seals

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are more solitary than many other pinnipeds. Yet, they are capable of vocal learning, a form of social learning. Most extant literature examines social animals when investigating social learning, despite sociality not being a prerequisite. Here,...

Year Published: 2024Topics: VocalizationAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Duengen, D., Polotzek, M., O'Sullivan, E. et al. 2024. Anecdotal Observations of Socially Learned Vocalizations in Harbor Seals. Animal Behavior and Cognition 11(4), 393–403.

Health and welfare benefits of computerized cognitive enrichment in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) at the US Navy Marine Mammal Program

Cognitive enrichment is becoming more prevalent in professional marine mammal facilities. Research with dolphins has suggested that such enrichment provides more welfare benefits than enrichment that does not incorporate cognitive challenge. However, there is little research supporting the use of...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Winship, K., McClain, A., Ramos, A. et al. 2024. Health and welfare benefits of computerized cognitive enrichment in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) at the US Navy Marine Mammal Program. Animals 14(7), 1120.

Apneustic anesthesia ventilation improves pulmonary function in anesthetized bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Our study suggests AAV, which more closely resembles the conscious intermittent respiratory pattern phenotype of dolphins, improves ventilation and pulmonary function in the anesthetized dolphin. Future studies should evaluate the cardiopulmonary effects of neutral buoyancy and cardiopulmonary sparing drug protocols...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Anesthesia & SedationAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Le-Bert, C. R., Bukoski, A., Downs, J. et al. 2024. Apneustic anesthesia ventilation improves pulmonary function in anesthetized bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

Dolphin-WET—Development of a Welfare Evaluation Tool for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) under human care

Ensuring high standards of animal welfare is not only an ethical duty for zoos and aquariums, but it is also essential to achieve their conservation, education, and research goals. While for some species, animal welfare assessment frameworks are already in...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Baumgartner, K., Hüttner, T., Clegg, I. L. K. et al. 2024. Dolphin-WET—Development of a Welfare Evaluation Tool for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) under human care. Animals 14(5), 701.

Benefit of cognitive environmental enrichments on social tolerance and play behavior in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Social tolerance is an essential feature of social life that can determine the good functioning of a group of animals. Play behaviors, like social play and playing with objects, are frequently associated with positive emotional and welfare states. As a...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Bigiani, S., Pilenga, C. 2024. Benefit of cognitive environmental enrichments on social tolerance and play behavior in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(2), 355–372.

Know when you are on a break: Effects of predictable breaks on bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus behaviours

Under human care, dolphins' activities are alternated with moments of breaks that should allow them to behave as they want. However, scheduled activities such as training, feeding and playing with objects can affect dolphins' behaviours during breaks. Specifically, dolphins perform...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Bigiani, S., Pil, C. 2023. Know when you are on a break: Effects of predictable breaks on bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus behaviours. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 11(3), 311–317.

Using anticipatory behavior as preference test in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

The preference tests have made a great contribution to promoting animal welfare. However, they are not always easily applicable and have some criticalities. Recently the anticipatory behavior has been used to detect the animals' preference. In this study, we attempted...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Behavioral & Cognitive Testing, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Bigiani, S., Pilenga, C. 2023. Using anticipatory behavior as preference test in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(2), 247–255.

A fast technique to induce and measure anticipatory behavior in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Anticipatory behavior describes the actions taken to prepare for an upcoming event. It is considered a promising tool for welfare assessment, but it is not fully applied in zoos and other facilities. This is probably due to the need to...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Behavioral & Cognitive Testing, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Bigiani, S., Pilenga, C. 2024. A fast technique to induce and measure anticipatory behavior in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 27(1), 137–149.

Social behaviors modulate bottlenose dolphins’ (Tursiops truncatus) breathing rate

Breathing frequency is a non-invasive physiological measure that brings valuable information on the bottlenose dolphins' internal state and behaviors. When combined with behavioral observations, it helps to better understand and interpret relevant behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate some...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Serres, A., Delfour, F. 2019. Social behaviors modulate bottlenose dolphins' (Tursiops truncatus) breathing rate. Animal Behavior and Cognition 6(2), 127–140.