Indo - Pacific bottlenose mahimahi around Shark Bay , Australia , perform a unique behaviour called “ sponging ” , which is where sure animals place sponges over their snout during foraging activeness . Not all of the dolphins in this area display the behavior , and it was discovered that sponging was in factculturally transmitted . Although it seemed plausible that sponging could be classified astool use , it remained a secret what the precise design of this behavior was ; scientists postulated that it could serve toprotect their beaksagainst attrition from sharp object whilst forage for solid food .
A newstudyaimed to shed Inner Light on why these animals might be using these sponges ; in particular , whether sponging allowed the animals to access certain new resources that non - spongers could not . They found evidence that the fauna used sponges as instrument to get at food , stand for that they could exploit an otherwise unused niche . The results have been publish in the journalProceedings of the Royal Society B.
The scientists took biopsy samples from the blubber of 11 spongers and 27 non - sponger in rules of order to dissect and compare the tissues . They were concerned in fatty acid ( FA ) cognitive content because this reflects what prey they are consuming . The team found that the FA profile were completely different between spongers and non - sponger . Furthermore , the difference of opinion was significant between spongers and non - spongers that were foraging in the same habitat , whereas non - spongers foraging in dissimilar habitats had identical profiles .
take together these solution march that this ostensible tool use behavior enables the dolphin to tap foraging niches that non - spongers can not . “ This has been establish in only a few species so far , and has been entail as a significant driver for human evolution,”said Michael Krützen , lead author of the study .
It is potential that the sponger allow the mahimahi to target bottom - dwelling fish that do not possess swim bladders , since the complex sea floor makes detection via echo sounding difficult . As it stands it remains unreadable what this new prey is , butfuture studiesmay expect into this .
