| Link |
Student |
Comments |
| http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/whales/gulf-mexico-sperm.html#cr |
Benjamin Chapman |
This article elaborates on the effect of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico among the cetacean communities, more specifically sperm whales, which have the largest brain in the animal kingdom. The population of sperm whales off the mouth of the Mississippi is only around 140 with a total of roughly 1,665 in all of the gulf. The toxins in the oil and the disperants contain toxins that become more dangerously concentrated higher up in the up chain. The only cetaceans that have been noticed to avoid the thick heavy oil deposits are dolphins, but they still cannot avoid the light sheens, and even these small deposits have a large effect on the bodies of these mammals. |
| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSm7BcQHWXk |
Kristina Wiltjer |
This video shows how monkeys have a taste for alcohol. It shows how the monkeys steel the alcohol from the guest staying at the hotel, and shows the same systems of what happens to humans when they drink too much. It also shows like some humans, that some of the monkeys don’t like the tastes of alcohol so they would choose to drink soft drinks, such as soda. |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsOIwQmotf0
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Jessica Furtado
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This is a short clip containing interviews with individuals who were a part of the making of the documentary "The Cove". The director and other members of the team express how they came to feel close to the dolphins and connected to them as they got to observe them. There is a sense of "communication" between dolphins and humans even if there are no words and their world is far different from the world that humans know.
The director of the film states that "there is a simbiotic relationship between the dolphin industry and the massacre of dolphins in this town of Taiji (Japan)", which is why he made this film to expose those who are illegally slaughtering dolphins in Japan. One of the men interviewed says that he feels guilty because he captured the dolphins that played "Flipper" on the original TV show that he believes created the captive dolphin industry that has been going on for over 40 years. By allowing others to see that dolphins can be trained and used for entertainment, "Flipper" may be somewhat responsible for the captive dolphin industry by showing that dolphins can be trained or used to provide pleasure to humans. This pleasure has now extended beyong entertainment and into the food industry.
No matter who feels responsible or attempts to point the finger of blame in this massacre, it is clear that it is not likely to stop. The crew used hidden cameras to catch footage of the illegal slaughters and one individual when asked how many times he'd been arrested for killing dolphins responds by saying "...this year?", indicating that this practice has been going on for many years and will not stop until punishments more effective than a bit of jail time are enacted.
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http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=41372825558
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kevin bowers
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Cetacean studies institute-dolphin embassy. A facebook fan page that is dedicated to the idea's and philosophy of scientist Dr.John C.Lilly. Dr.Lilly in the 1960's claimed that dolphins should be considered individuals and should have the same rights and protection that are given to humans, because of cetacean intelligence and reasoning abilities. Lilly believed that cetaceans were very close the humans and that they were endowed with the same rights.Dr.Lilly even believed that dolphins and other cetaceans should have representation in the United Nations for the cetaceans population according to Lilly were humanoid |
| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqbvDZwqNw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GOb3nFpewM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp_motddvnQ&feature=related
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Alicia Robillon |
The first link is a short clip (from either Planet Earth or Blue Planet, I forget) that I found on YouTube that shows how a group of bottlenose dolphins developed a unique hunting strategy. These specific dolphins living in this part of the world are the only dolphins that have been found to use this hunting strategy. For that reason, I think that it is a good example of culture within the cetacean species, which was brought up in all three cetacean readings. Since not all cetaceans do this, it shows that culture can develop in isolation, just as it can with humans who need to adapt to certain lifestyles depending on where they live. The second link is along the same line. Here, dolphins and fishermen have learned to work together to catch more fish and ultimately both human and dolphin succeed in getting what they want. This culture is also limited to a certain part of the world where certain groups of dolphins and people have learned to do this and passed it on to the next generations. The third link is just a cool story about a dolphin saving whales that were stranded on a sandbar J, and I just thought it was interesting! |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehRCO3OWSeQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmLYGzlPLj0
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Jeffrey Nieves |
The first link is a man talking about how dolphins recognize danger and have been know to protect animals or humans when they're in danger against sharks. When sharks see easy opportunities to take advangtage of animals or humans in the open waters dolphins have been known to ram into the side of the shark to get it away. He talks about the effectiveness of them traveling in pods and how their communication techniques help them to recognize danger or struggle. The second link was a re enactment of a drowning in shark infested waters. The dolphins seemed to understand the trouble that the girl was in and resurfaced the drowning girl and then proceed to fend off the sharks. The video tells us that often time dolphins are attracted to shipwrecks because of their sonar detecting capabilities.
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http://hubpages.com/hub/Save-The-Dolphins-In-Japan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRD8e20fBo
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Matthew Flynn |
This is about fisherman in Japan who are slaughtering dolphins for their meat. This meat has a high amount of mercury and is not meant for consumption. The meat is being distributed to public schools in Japan. The government and general public was not aware that this was going on. The fisherman also not only kill for meat but see these dolphins as pests and use this as a way of population control. There was a documentary filmed on this crisis called The Cove. The 2nd link I provided is the trailer to this film. |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy_IwblcVOA
US Navy Dolphins & Sea Lions to Serve as Marine Guardians of US Naval Base
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Jenna
David
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This video is about dolphin and sea lion involvement in the Navy. The United States became interested in the abilities of dolphins and sea lions after WWII. Since then, the Navy has been researching and training these animals to detect mines and recover objects underwater. The Navy’s program has been pretty successful overall. It has provided safer waters and more information about the animals themselves. I was concerned at first for the wellbeing of the dolphins and sea lions. From this video it appears that the government has taken and continues to take good care of the animals. A trainer had also mentioned that the dolphins and sea lions could swim away if they felt unhappy or stressed. I still am having a difficult time in deciding if using an animal’s abilities for human welfare in this case is acceptable. |
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173112.htm
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Shannon Nelligan
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This article focuses on the research of neuroscientist Lori Marino. She is an expert in the neuroanatomy of dolphins and whales. Dolphins have the second largest brain in relation to their body size, humans being the largest. Marino states: "Dolphins are sophisticated, self-aware, highly intelligent beings with individual personalities, autonomy and an inner life. They are vulnerable to tremendous suffering and psychological trauma." Marino suggests that confining dolphins in marine parks and resorts may be very harmful to the animals.
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| http://www.mywhaleweb.com/?p=1719 |
Matt O'Donnell |
This article is about the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company and thier decision to not go through extracting for oil and gas, which would have caused seismic activity in the grey whale's feeding ground of the northeastern coast of Russia. The Western grey whale was thought to be extinct by commercial whaling until around 130 grey whales were discovered off the coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia. The population was facing serious growing threats and nearly became extinct because of the gas and oil extraction. Only 25 of the 130 whales are females capable of reproducing, the death of one of them for 3 consecutive years, could cause extinction within 15 years. |
| http://tunaseiners.com/blog/2009/02/drive-to-save-dolphins-jolts-american-tuna-fleet/ |
Samantha Ruminski |
The article I focused on was about the trapping of dolphins in tuna nets. It has been a problem for a long time that while doing extensive tuna fishing dolphins would be caught in the same nets as the tuna and die. Because of pressure from many environmental groups many tuna companies have been forced to stop selling the tuna that is caught in the same nets as the dolphins. One captain spoke about how people ask him why he kills dolphins in the process of fishing for tuna. He claimed that it was not his intention and always tries to save as many dolphins as possible. What I found interesting was that one professor spoke about the methods of how these dolphins are freed, which he called the back down maneuver, he also said that most dolphins have been through the process before so the dolphins usually with stay calmly in the middle of the net until they are let out, unlike the tuna that are constantly thrashing around. This process may become detrimental to tuna fishers but environmentalist are going to stand their grounds on saving these animals.
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http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Philosophy/Morality/Speciesism/dolphinCulture.htm
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Aaron Widell
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This article is brought to you by the animalliberationfront.com and focuses on a group of dolphins off of the coast of Australia. These dolphins, mainly mothers and daughters wear sea sponges on the nose while hunting for food. It is used as a form of protection from sharp objects in the coral reef. This behavior is unique to this group of Dolphins off shark bay and it is a great example of the culture the animals posess among themselves. It is being passed down from one generation to another amongst this demographic of dolphins, adding light to the argument that dolphins tend to carry and promote traditions and culture similar to people.
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| http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Gangetic-dolphin-most-endangered-species/articleshow/6701523.cms |
richard ranlett |
My article was about the Ganga River dolphin which is one of the most endangered mammal in the world. It was sad reading this article because dolphins are the smartest animals in the world and many more resources should be used to help preserve them. The forest department in India does not even know the data about how many dolphins live in their river. It seemed as if they didn’t really care about the fact that the dolphins would be extinct in the near future unless actions were taken. The gangetic dolphins are extremely old and it would be terrible to see them disappear off the earth because of pollution in their natural habitat, and that is the reason for the declining numbers. There must be ways to stop pollution so that not only dolphins can survive but all of the other animals that are affected by pollution.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJFo3trMuD8
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Jennifer Hader
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National Geographic made this video taking about the mirror test comparing the apes ability to recognize itself in the mirror compared to humans. They use the mark test to compare the results from humans and apes. They apes, just as humans, at a certain age are able to understand that their own imagine is portrayed in the mirror. This shows the apes are conscious of their self recognition , just as humans are. Through this experiment the researchers are trying to show the the apes are extremely similar to us. Small apes behave just as little children would in front of the mirror touching it and trying to look behind it to see if there is another ape is behind it. The older ape knows it is their own reflection and tries to wipe the mark off its face just like a human. This is a huge deal in the protection of apes because in a way the apes have a concept of self and have some equal intelligence level compared to humans, which many people are not willing to accept.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al9UmNRoP8g&feature=related
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Denise Belmonte
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This is a video describing a new method of therapy for disabled children and adolescents. The students are brought in and associate with the dolphins. The founder of this program says that the combination of the water, air, and the sounds of the dolphins help the students in several ways. Cognition improves, as well as communication. One autistic student disliked being touched or touching anything at all. However, he appeared to be enjoying the water immensely, and was really interacting with the dolphins. When shown flashcards, it appears that his understanding of what the teachers were asking improved greatly. I just thought this video was interesting becuase you always hear of guide dogs and such, but these dolphins really appeared to be helping these young people in need.
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| http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/06/whalepeople/ |
Sarah Chaulk
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This is an article about recent studies done that find cetaceans are comparable to primates in their intelligence and human like characteristics. Cetaceans; primarily dolphins, killer whales and humpback whales, are capable of self recognition and communication. Their ability to communicate is far more advanced than that of great apes. Unfortunately it is hard to keep whales and dolphins in captivity. Cetaceans are also in danger since they are hunted by the thousands annually. Hopefully in the future we can do more research into the intelligence of these animals. |
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6973994.ece
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Zachary Conroy
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This article is about how some scientists believe dolphins are the most intelligent non-human animal and should be considered for personhood. Dolphin brains are extremely large compared to their bodies, a sign of intelligence. Research says that they can have the intelligence equivalent to a three year old human child and can develop a sense of self throughout time and space. They also exhibit an understanding of shared cultural experiences that can be passed in between the members of a generation. One study showed that dolphins can recognize certain parts of their bodies in mirrors, while others showed an understanding of basic symbols and sophisticated social structures that allow them to teach learned behavior to others. Dolphins also have a highly developed cerebral cortex which resembles the brain of a human being.
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| http://www.livescience.com/animals/070306_whale_whisperers.html |
Nick Bouchard
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This article focuses on the so-called language of whales and how they use different calls to signify different things in their environments. Whales sing songs to each other while feeding to let other whales in their group know where they are, each different group may even have their own signature song. Also, during mating season, males sing long, low pitched songs to attract females, those holding the longest notes let females know how enticing their mates will be. Scientists have also found that in different areas of the ocean where whales dwell, there appear to be different dialects between the same types on whales. Estimates put the amount of dialects around 100,000 in the south hemisphere alone. This shows how intelligent whales and other cetaceans are, and how whales are really quite conscious of their environment and other around them.
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| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atN_25slL64 |
sam erickson |
This clip is about dolphins that have very interesting hunting techniques. Its fairly romanticized because it’s “Planet Earth” but it’s still very relevant to the issues we’re discussing because if dolphins didn’t have an extensive brain capacity they would never figure out such unique techniques as the ones that are demonstrated in this clip. On the other hand it also begs the question of are these dolphins trained to do this for this video. Either way it is quite a site.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/10/06/2010-10-06_girl_throwing_puppies_in_river_on
_video_in_bosnia_wont_face_charges_report.html
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Ben Anderson |
This is an article about a Bosnian girl caught on video throwing multiple puppies into a river. The case was recently dropped, and groups like PETA are outraged. The police didnt press charges because they claim the girl was too young, and also that the puppies were actually rescued by an old woman up river. However PETA claims that they were not the same puppies and say there is a clear difference. |
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http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/03/nation/
la-na-alamogordo-chimps-20100903
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Danny Bauer
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This article is about animal rights groups fighting against the government for some 200 chimpanzees that are set to be transferred to a Texas laboratory to be tested on. They have already been tested on through the decade being injected with viruses for the research of experimental vaccines. Unfortunately chimps are the perfect test subjects because there the closest animals to humans. They share between 94 and 98 percent of DNA and are intelligent and able to plan future actions. They are able to get hepatitis C and B which no other animals can get so that makes them more of a priority to be tested on. The researches argue that the chimps are well cared for and also say they are animals not humans and for that should be tested on to save millions of human lives. This is during a time where Congress is debating legislation that could ban primate testing all together.
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| http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100825174108.htm |
Kelley Irving |
This article deals with the collection of dolphin DNA. To get DNA, scientists usually biopsy the animal using a dart gun. This is a very delicate procedure and can be very dangerous to the dolphin if done incorrectly. To avoid this, scientists discovered they could take samples from their blow holes to collect DNA. They took a biopsy and a blow hole sample from six dolphins. For every one, the samples matched perfectly. This procedure benefits both scientists and dolphins. The dolphins are unharmed and the scientists can still collect their samples. |
| http://www.healingtherapies.info/Dolphin.htm |
Heather McAtamney
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This website is about using dolphins for physical therapy for disabled people. The section I found most interesting was talking about sonar and how dolphins can "see" into our bodies. They state that a dolphin can focus on a unborn fetus inside a woman, a tumor, or whatever the disability may be for the particular people. There is also a statement about spiritual healing that occurs with the use of dolphins in therapy. People also claim that energy travels from the dolphin into their own bodies helping to heal or stimulate damaged parts of their bodies.
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http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Kanzi-the-Talking-Ape-Video
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Theresa James
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This is a video from Oprah.com on Kanzi the talking Ape. Correspondent Lisa Ling did a segment on Kanzi and his abilities to communicate on Monday October 4th. I thought it was interesting, not only because we briefly discussed Kanzi in class but also because of Kanzi's extraordinary communication abilities.
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/opinion/4168211/
Why-beached-whales-should-be-left-to-die
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Arian Alicea |
I chose this article because it shows a different point of view than what is normally heard. Although only the first half of the article actually refers to the beached pilot whales, his stance is obvious. While I don't agree with his arguement, it is an interesting point. Natural selection can be the defense for a lot of the things that cruelly happen to any animal, but I don't think that is what Darwin intended when he publicized his theory. |
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6973994.ece
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojydNb3Lrrs
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Daniel Gougian
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The first link is an article present by the Sunday Times. According to the scientist Dolphians maybe the second most intelligent animle in the world, beating out the pervois holder, the chimps. According to a recent study, dolphins have a strong sense of individuality, and can concern for the future. The second link, is to a video from hitch hikers guide to the galaxy. In the book (published before the article mind you) the author writes that are the second smartest creatures in the world. Looks like he was right. That and if we are talking about dolphins I have to post it.
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