06.01.2020 – The brainy bunch

All cetaceans are magnificent animals but two species have fascinated local scientists for some time because of their frequent visit to Madeira’s waters; the Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and the Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). Today we witnessed both species on both trips aboard our traditional boat; in the morning they occurred as a mixed group outside the waters of Jardim do Mar while in the afternoon they were encountered separately, scattered over the waters outside Madalena do Mar and Ponta do Sol.

Associations between these two species around Madeira are frequently observed and this makes sense considering that resident patterns have been identified for both species. Apart from that, both animals are renowned for their large and highly complex brains. Neuroscientists have long been in awe of the architecture of dolphin brains that make those lab rats or monkeys seem almost dull.  Their neocortex, the most recently evolved part of the mammalian brain that enables us to perform more sophisticated stuff, is thinner but more convoluted than the human neocortex. Acoustic information from their acute sonar is processed in the temporal lobe at the top of their heads and is integrated with visual input at lightening speed. VEN neurons, spindle cells responsible for high-high-level functions, are much more abundant in dolphin brains than they are in the only other organisms equipped with these super cells; humans. 

These are just a few of the many attributes that make the dolphin brain absolutely unique in the animal kingdom, allowing them to consciously make decisions, establish complex relationships to other creatures, teach one another and construct their own culture through social learning. They are self-aware creatures that are emotionally highly sophisticated. This doesn’t make them smarter than us but it does make us question our self-proclaimed supremacy as the most intelligent species on earth. This shouldn’t scare us, it should teach us humility and show us that we still have so much to learn about the world around us. Assuming that we know everything leaves little room for improvement.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

14:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales, Loggerhead turtle