Dolphins ‘dumbing down’ language to adapt to din

Noise pollution from ships, speedboats and other human activities is taking a toll on the communications of aquatic mammals, the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation has warned.

According to a long-term study in Greece’s seas, dolphins and other cetaceans that rely on a series of sophisticated signals to communicate with each other, travel in groups and hunt are having to “dumb down” their communications so they can be heard over the human din. 

“As intelligent mammals, dolphins use a complex language of communication, which differs both among different species and different populations,” explains Anastasia Miliou, Archipelagos’ head of research. “When underwater noise pollution is intense, they exchange more ‘simplified’ signals to reduce the amount of information that is being lost…. or use higher frequency signals and louder ‘whistles.’ Basically, they’re ‘shouting’ so they can be heard.”