Abstract
The National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD plans to introduce a new option for human care of dolphins by creating North America's first dolphin sanctuary and relocating their entire population to this new, outdoor, natural environment (National Aquarium, 2019).As the aquarium's resident population prepares for this journey, frequent changes have increased the pod's potential for social changes.Although social aggression and displacement were not significant issues, animal care professionals wanted to implement a new stationorder, using symbols, to decrease the potential for confusion and related aggression among dolphins at the start of training sessions.This study served as a preliminary investigation that examined one dolphin’s behavioral responses to symbols when stationing and the extraneous variables associated with learning new stationing protocols (i.e., symbol absence/presence, time of day, location) and their influence on success rate.Observations of the National Aquarium’s resident female pod included four dolphins total, but the analyses were focused on Jade. Each dolphin was previously trained to station in front of a preassigned symbol that consisted of a unique plastic cut-out shape attached to a PVC pole.Trainers initiated the start of training sessions by submerging symbols into the pool. Dolphin station order and behavioral observations were recorded for each trial session and analyzed.Results revealed that Jade’s mean correct response rate increased consistently over time.Jade’s mean correct response rate did not differ significantly between trials with symbols present or absent.There were no significant differences in Jade’s success when analyzed by time of day or location.These data support the hypothesis that Jade was able to learn her new station position. Future research could utilize video analysis to expand upon this study by examining the success of stationing in more locations and measuring instances of aggression before and after implementing new station protocols.Post-relocation, symbols could be used to re-establish social order and to relieve dolphin anxiety by introducing familiar items into their routines. Station training with symbols is a beneficial tool that trainers should utilize to reinforce social bonds and increase dolphin performance during sessions.