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Superalliance of bottlenose dolphins

Author

Listed:
  • Richard C. Connor

    (University of Massachusetts)

  • Michael R. Heithaus

    (Simon Fraser University)

  • Lynne M. Barre

    (Georgetown University)

Abstract

It is quite common to find several levels of nested male alliances in human political organization1, 2 but these are extremely rare in other species3. Yet we found that male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) at Shark Bay, Western Australia, form two levels of alliance within a social network of more than 400 individuals. Fourteen of the males formed highly labile alliances, rather than the more typical stable ones, and joined forces in a large ‘superalliance’ that competed directly with smaller teams of stable alliances.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard C. Connor & Michael R. Heithaus & Lynne M. Barre, 1999. "Superalliance of bottlenose dolphins," Nature, Nature, vol. 397(6720), pages 571-572, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:397:y:1999:i:6720:d:10.1038_17501
    DOI: 10.1038/17501
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Carla de Francesco & Anna Loy, 2016. "Intra- and Interspecific Interactions as Proximate Determinants of Sexual Dimorphism and Allometric Trajectories in the Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinidae)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-19, October.

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