Academic Review 2024

18 ST EDWARD’S, OXFORD

CULTURE What is culture?

issues met in the wild and in captivity. Finally, I have shown that both cetaceans display prominent levels of short-term memory with the ability to repeat certain tasks with little to no practice. Spatial memory is greater in O. orca but social memory is greater in T. truncatus . I have discussed how there is depth to intelligence via the exceptional levels of culture within both species of cetacean. I have come to the tentative conclusion, that Tursiops truncatus are the more intelligent species. However, this is no simple answer. I would need to conduct much more research and go into much more detail and understanding of each species to make this statement final. My conclusion may have been influenced by the greater abundance of literature on Tursiops truncatus, potentially leading to a biased decision. Secondly, if their particular prey declines in numbers then that population will follow. Culture in Tursiops truncatus An example of culture in T. truncatus can be found in Shark Bay in Western Australia. Professor of Biology and Psychology at Georgetown University, Janet Mann, has discovered the tool use of sponges by a very small population of common bottlenose dolphins. They protect their rostra or snouts by fitting them with sponges when foraging. These sponges are used to hunt for fish between the pointed corals or to sift the sand to reveal hidden fish, such as the spothead grubfish, which would otherwise not be visible. This tool use of the T. truncatus population distinctive to Shark Bay, is passed down from mother to infant (Mann, et al., 2008). Primates and birds were thought to be the only organisms with the ability of tool use, however dolphins can now be added to the list. It is hard to analyse cetacean memory when not recorded in the wild. However, from the captive examples, both cetaceans reveal high levels of short term memory. T. truncatus showed worse levels of spatial memory but higher levels of social memory compared to O. orca . Both cetaceans show complex forms of culture, from the fussy eaters of O. orca to the tool use of T. truncatus.

Conclusion This essay aimed to compare and contrast the intelligence between killer whales and common bottlenose dolphins. I have tried to cover the factors of intelligence and have looked at similarities and differences between the chosen cetaceans. I have linked intelligence to overcoming challenges in order to survive. I have described the way intelligence is measured in animals using the encephalization quotient, showing T. truncatus 161.09% greater than O. orca . Both these cetaceans have a highly gyrified brain structure. O. orca a little greater. I have looked at how the two species communicate via the same mechanisms, from physical gestures to specific vocalisations. I have noted that both cetaceans employ echolocation to its full potential, in order to hunt, using their surroundings to their advantage, and solve problems at an advanced level to overcome Culture is the ‘Information or behaviour, shared by a population or subpopulation, which is acquired from conspecifics through some form of social learning’ (Whitehead, Whitehead, & Whitehead, 2001). As defined, it requires elevated levels of social learning to form culture. These skills taught and learnt are usually acquired when organisms maintain a habitat in a certain environment, as its climatic features and factors lead to the formation of adaptations and increase adroitness, consequently promoting the continuation of that species. Culture therefore links to top levels of intelligence. Culture in Orcanus orca Orcas inhabit every ocean on the planet, consuming a wide range of marine life, from fish to other mammals and even sharks. However, the different populations of the Pacific Northwest have different prey. The Residents, inhabiting the coastal water, feed only on Chinook salmon and the Transients, inhabiting the more open ocean, feed predominantly on marine mammals. Their choices of prey are due to the influence of members of the population teaching the infants these long-established preferences (PTMSC, 2022). This can become a problem in two ways; firstly, if population members are taken into captivity, they have been known to starve to death following their tradition, rather than accepting other types of food that are provided.