UF Biology Lecturer Stefanie Gazda and Rebecca Hamilton, the graduate student she co-advised with Richard Connor at U. Mass. Dartmouth, have a new paper out in Behavioural Processes on our very own Cedar Key dolphins. They have a unique feeding behavior wherein one individual drives mullet in a circle towards a “barrier” of other dolphins, who then snatch them from the air as they leap to escape. This is the first described example of role specialization in a marine mammal. Hamilton et al. documented unique vocalizations indicating “eavesdropping” by the barriers, along with other behavioral observations to further characterize the specialized roles played by members of the group. Congratulations, Stefanie!
