“Our ability to form strategic, cooperative relationships (…) was once thought to be unique to our species,” said lead researcher Stephanie King.
Male bottlenose dolphins form the largest known multi-layered alliance networks beyond humans, a new international scientific study shows. Their motivation is generally… amorous, i.e. the easiest way to find a partner.
The researchers from the universities of Bristol (UK), Zurich (Switzerland) and Massachusetts (USA), who made the relevant publication in the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), analyzed data from 121 adult male bottlenose dolphins of Indo- Pacific.
It was found that at first level dolphins form alliances of two or three individuals to cooperatively pursue “courtship” with individual females. In a second level alliances of four to 14 males are formed which compete with other alliances for privileged access to female dolphins. There are also even broader, third-level alliances between cooperating alliance groups of the former second level.
Read the scientific publication here
THE lead researcher Stephanie King, associate professor at Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, said that “cooperation between allies is pervasive in human societies and one of the defining characteristics of our success. Our ability to form strategic, collaborative relationships at multiple societal levels, such as trade or military alliances both nationally and internationally, was once thought to be unique to our species. But not only did we show that male bottlenose dolphins form the largest known multi-layered network of alliances outside of humans, but that cooperative relationships between groups allow males to spend more time with females, thereby increasing their reproductive success.”.
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