Researchers

Profiles of 4 leading researchers

Dr. Laela Sayigh

Hampshire College & Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Associate Professor of Animal Behavior

Dolphin social communication and signature whistles

• Discovered dolphin 'motherese' — mothers modify vocalizations when communicating with calves

• Documented signature whistles functioning like individual names

Dr. Diana Reiss

Hunter College, City University of New York

Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Marine Mammal Science

Dolphin cognition, self-awareness, and symbolic communication

• Proved dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors (mirror self-recognition)

• Showed dolphins are more precocious than human infants in developing self-recognition

Dr. Lori Marino

Whale Sanctuary Project

Founder and President; Neuroscientist

Cetacean neuroanatomy and cognitive evolution

• Documented sperm whales possess the largest brains on Earth (7.8 kg)

• Showed dolphin brain-to-body ratios are second only to humans

Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski

Dolphin Communication Project

Founder and Director

Dolphin behavior and multimodal communication in natural environments

• Developed the Mobile Video/Acoustic Array (MVA) — synchronizes video and audio to identify which dolphin produces specific sounds

• Documented context-specific communication strategies (play vs. foraging vs. travel)