9408327 Smolker ABSTRACT Dolphins are notorious for the wide variety of sounds they produce, described picturesquely as whistles, squeaks, squeals, grunts, growls, etc. They are also exceptional among animals in that they show evidence of both the ability to accurately mimic different types of whistles and also to learn vocalizations. These skills are shared with humans, but otherwise occur only among some songbirds and parrots. Although there has been much conjecture about the possibility of a dolphin "language", almost nothing is known about most of the sounds dolphins use, in part because the sounds are difficult to analyze. Dr. Smolker project will use a new technique to analyze dolphin "burst-pulse" sounds and how they are used by wild dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia.
