Effects of Failure on Subsequent Performance in the Bottlenose Dolphin (\u3ci\u3eTursiops truncatus\u3c/i\u3e)

The current study examined the immediate effects of two types of failure during operant-conditioning based training sessions in 11 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego, CA. While learning a multi-faceted behavior not commonly found in nature, such as beaching, animals are likely to perform approximations of the behavior that are not successful and do not result in reinforcement. The effects of failure on beaching trials were systematically investigated over a three-month period by determining the mean failure rate and the probability of success after initial success, initial attempts, and initial no-attempts. This study, the first to analyze failure response types in bottlenose dolphins, showed that four subjects’ mean performance decreased after either initial attempts or initial no-attempts when compared to initial success and two subjects’ mean performance was enhanced by either initial attempts or initial no-attempts when compared to initial success. Five subjects’ mean performance was not affected by initial attempts and initial no-attempts. Both types of failure decreased performance. However, only initial no-attempts increased performance. In addition, several individuals had a mean failure rate that differed based on the trainer, time of day, criteria, mat type, number of sessions, and hand station requests. This study demonstrated that initial failure was not solely responsible for subsequent performance. Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1399

Efficacy of Cognitive Enrichment for Bottlenose Dolphins (\u3ci\u3eTursiops truncatus\u3c/i\u3e): Evaluation of Planning Abilities Through the Use of a Novel Problem Solving Task

Environmental enrichment is a key component to improving the psychological and physiological well being of animals in human care. Enrichment can be achieved through a variety of modalities, including the addition of objects and scents, or by providing the animals with additional challenges. The effectiveness of specific enrichment should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if the desired result is achieved. Environmental enrichment devices (EED’s) can be utilized to present novel problems to animals in human care. When confronted with a novel problem, dolphins can plan their behavior to create a more efficient strategy then previously modeled. The purpose of the present study was to investigate dolphins’ ability to plan their behaviors using an interactive apparatus and accompanying weights, and examine the enrichment value of the interactive apparatus. Two problems were presented to evaluate dolphins’ ability to plan by collecting several weights at once, thus solving the apparatus more efficiently. In contrast to previous findings, dolphins in the present study failed to plan their behavior. Rather, individual differences in strategy and level of interaction with the apparatus arose throughout the experiment and are discussed here. The results indicate that the apparatus was engaging for some animals, evidenced by their continued interaction throughout the study, with or without reward. One dolphin continually solved the apparatus despite rarely consuming the food reward, suggesting that she was motivated to participate for the challenge itself. In contrast, another animal preferred to interact with the weights. The presentation of the interactive apparatus may have resulted in small but measurable changes in behavior. There was a marginal effect of phase for behavioral diversity, with the highest behavioral diversity indices found in the treatment phase. Social swim states and usage of the bottom of the habitat were highest when the interactive apparatus was being presented. Combined, this suggests that the interactive apparatus may have resulted small changes in behavior. MA thesis: http://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/142