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Same-Sex Socio-Sexual Interactions Among A Group Of Captive Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Natalia Botero Acosta
Same-Sex Socio-Sexual Interactions Among A Group Of Captive Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Natalia Botero Acosta
Master's Theses
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) frequently engage in non-reproductive sexual behavior, including homosexual encounters. In order to better understand the nature and function of these interactions, a longitudinal study of the patterns of association and the dynamics of initiator/recipient role exchange was conducted. Underwater video footage of a colony of bottlenose dolphins housed at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS), collected between March of 2010 and May of 2013, was analyzed. Associations occurring during homosexual interactions were transitory for most individuals. Nonetheless, subsequent analyses allowed the rejection of the null hypothesis of random association, suggesting the existence of …