Studies of social intelligence of wild and captive bottlenose dolphins

Abstract

Social intelligence hypotheses propose that complex socialization drives cognitive ability, which animals use to solve the problems associated with complex societies. However, studies of social intelligence have, so far, been limited to a few species, and further studies are needed to discuss "why" social intelligence has evolved in species that have adapted to various environments. Bottlenose dolphins are thought to have complex social systems and cognitive abilities. The evolution of their social intelligence in underwater environments is very different from that of terrestrial animals such as humans and apes. In this paper, we review several social intelligence studies of wild and captive bottlenose dolphins that encompass social interactions ― including affiliative, agonistic interactions and post-conflict affiliations ― and cognitive abilities ― including cooperation, prosocial behavior and joint attention. We also discuss further scope for research on the social intelligence of dolphins.