Aussie sponge carrying dolphins' tool use might come at the cost of echolocation

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-07-16 09:01

Australia; WA

iNaturalist - Observation © Philipp · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/89961213

A group of dolphins in Shark Bay off the coast of WA use sponge tools to forage, but now Australian scientists say this might come at the cost of echolocation - a technique they use to determine the location of objects through sound. These dolphins carry a sea sponge on their beak to probe the seafloor and flush out camouflaged fish, however, the researchers found the sponge may interfere with their ability to hear echoes of their echolocation clicks, which they do through their lower jaw. Their computer modelling shows that sponges interfere with echolocation, potentially explaining why sponge foraging takes so long to learn and spreads exclusively from mother to offspring.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Cultural transmission of animal tool-use driven by trade-offs: Insights from sponge-using dolphins

Royal Society Open Science

Tool-use is common in the animal kingdom, but while benefits of tool-use are well-documented, little is understood about the costs. A subpopulation of dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia use sponge tools to forage. Dolphins carry a sea sponge on their beak to probe the seafloor and flush out camouflaged fish. However, the sponge may interfere with their ability to hear echoes of their echolocation clicks, which they do through their lower jaw. Computer modeling shows that sponges interfere with echolocation, potentially explaining why sponge foraging takes so long to learn and spreads exclusively from mother to offspring.

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conference: Royal Society Open Science

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Organisation/s: Curtin University, Georgetown University, USA

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