It turns out that engaging a ‘wingman’ to assist you to locate a spouse is not limited to Ocean nightclub; dolphins utilize the same strategy in the ocean!
Male bottlenose dolphins have been observed to create strategic alliances with other males to compete with rival alliances for females.
A research team led by the University of Bristol showed that marine mammals form more partnerships than any other species outside humans.
Additionally, they discovered that different groups of allied dolphins cooperate, allowing males to spend more time with the females they are chasing and resulting in the long-term advantage of reproductive success.
Dr. Stephanie King, the co-lead author, stated, “Our analysis demonstrates that dolphin communities, along with those of nonhuman primates, are useful model systems for comprehending human social and cognitive evolution.”
Humans form tactical alliances in international trade, the military, the family, and numerous other contexts.
Dr. King stated, “Alliance cooperation is prevalent in human cultures and one of the trademarks of our prosperity.”
It was once believed that this skill distinguished us from our chimpanzee ancestors and was the result of the evolution of pair bonding and male parental care.
Nonetheless, a study released today in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that shared child care is not necessary for teambuilding in the natural environment.
The co-lead author of the study, Professor Richard Connor of the University of Massachusetts, stated, “Our results demonstrate that intergroup relationships can emerge without these characteristics, from a more chimpanzee-like social and mating system.
In Shark Bay, Western Australia, the British, American, and Swiss researchers spotted 121 adult male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.
Not only did they observe male dolphins forming coalitions, but they also observed that these alliances are part of a three-tiered society.
A male dolphin forms first-order alliances with two or three additional individuals to woo females, steal them from other alliances, or defend against attacks.
Some first-order coalitions then create second-order alliances, consisting of four to fourteen cooperating dolphins.
These alliances then fight with other second-order alliances for access to female dolphins or form third-order alliances.
Individuals can spend more time bonding with possible mates as opposed to competing.
Dr. King added, “Not only have we demonstrated that male bottlenose dolphins form the largest known multilevel alliance network outside of humans, but also that cooperative relationship between groups, as opposed to alliance size alone, enable males to spend more time with females, thereby increasing their reproductive success.”
Dr. Simon Allen, Senior Lecturer at Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, added, ‘We show that the duration over which these teams of male dolphins consort females is contingent upon being well-connected with third-order allies, i.e. social ties between alliances lead to long-term benefits for these males.
The work has given light on how previously believed to be exclusively human personality traits can be acquired.
