Flora Lichtman

Hey, it's Flora Lichtman, and you're listening to Science Friday.

Investigating an iconic animal sound.

The dolphin whistle.

But what exactly is that dolphin saying?

My next guest is trying to find out.

She's an expert in dolphin communication and has been compiling a database of whistles from a pot of dolphins in Sarasota, Florida, that's been studied since the 1970s.

And she's working to answer some fundamental questions about dolphin dialects.

Dr. Leila Saig is a senior research specialist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Leila, thank you for being here.

Let's do some Dolphin Whistle 101.

So every dolphin has something called a signature whistle.

Let's listen to some examples first.

Okay, so what is a signature whistle?

They're like, Flora here, something like that.

Do they name themselves?

Like, how does a signature whistle come to be?

Are they unique?

Like, does every dolphin have a different signature whistle or like half of them named, you know, Jane?

And do they ID themselves the same way to their friends as they do to their families?

Like do they have different signature whistles for themselves in different scenarios?