There is relatively little known about the social behavior of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) particularly in comparison to information on the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, (Tursiops truncates). The purpose of the current study is to describe the social behavior of two juvenile male rough-toothed dolphins housed at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, FL. Rates of affiliative social behaviors were greater between the two males within this group compared to the other pairs of dolphins. The males exhibited a high rate of association, calculated using the half-weight index. Following aggressive behavior within the overall group, the focal pair was more likely to respond by engaging in affiliative interactions. The other pairs of dolphins were more likely to respond to aggression in the environment with other aggressive interactions.
Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1390/
","abstract_html":"<p>There is relatively little known about the social behavior of rough-toothed dolphins<em> </em>(<em>Steno </em>bredanensis) particularly in comparison to information on the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, (<em>Tursiops truncates</em>). The purpose of the current study is to describe the social behavior of two juvenile male rough-toothed dolphins housed at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, FL. Rates of affiliative social behaviors were greater between the two males within this group compared to the other pairs of dolphins. The males exhibited a high rate of association, calculated using the half-weight index. Following aggressive behavior within the overall group, the focal pair was more likely to respond by engaging in affiliative interactions. The other pairs of dolphins were more likely to respond to aggression in the environment with other aggressive interactions.</p> <p>Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1390/</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hanna, Pepper Reid"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Stanley Kuczaj","Donald Sacco","Richard Mohn"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:34Z","subjects":["male alliance","rough-toothed dolphin","social organization","Animal Studies","Experimental Analysis of Behavior","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/170","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Stanley Kuczaj","Donald Sacco","Richard Mohn"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hanna, Pepper Reid"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-09T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["male alliance","rough-toothed dolphin","social organization","Animal Studies","Experimental Analysis of Behavior","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/170"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["There is relatively little known about the social behavior of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) particularly in comparison to information on the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, (Tursiops truncates). The purpose of the current study is to describe the social behavior of two juvenile male rough-toothed dolphins housed at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, FL. Rates of affiliative social behaviors were greater between the two males within this group compared to the other pairs of dolphins. The males exhibited a high rate of association, calculated using the half-weight index. Following aggressive behavior within the overall group, the focal pair was more likely to respond by engaging in affiliative interactions. The other pairs of dolphins were more likely to respond to aggression in the environment with other aggressive interactions.
Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1390/
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Social Interactions Among Two Males in a Captive Group of Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanesis)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Stanley Kuczaj","Donald Sacco","Richard Mohn"],"dc:creator":["Hanna, Pepper Reid"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-09T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["There is relatively little known about the social behavior of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) particularly in comparison to information on the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, (Tursiops truncates). The purpose of the current study is to describe the social behavior of two juvenile male rough-toothed dolphins housed at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, FL. Rates of affiliative social behaviors were greater between the two males within this group compared to the other pairs of dolphins. The males exhibited a high rate of association, calculated using the half-weight index. Following aggressive behavior within the overall group, the focal pair was more likely to respond by engaging in affiliative interactions. The other pairs of dolphins were more likely to respond to aggression in the environment with other aggressive interactions.
Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1390/
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/170"],"dc:subject":["male alliance","rough-toothed dolphin","social organization","Animal Studies","Experimental Analysis of Behavior","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Social Interactions Among Two Males in a Captive Group of Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanesis)"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:34Z"}