Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala University (KU) has signed a memorandum of agreement with Oregon State University, USA, to implement a multi-institutional collaborative project that explores the evolution of the relationship between humans and dolphins. The project, titled ‘The Ecology and Evolution of Cultural and Cooperative Behavior Among Dolphins and Humans’, is supported by the National Geographic Society and The Wildlife Intelligence Project.
Project Overview
“The evolution of cooperation is one of the most debated topics in science. While the discussion focuses on human-wildlife conflicts, there are a few instances of dolphin-human cooperation in fishing. Such examples are found in the Ashtamudi estuary in Kerala, the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar, and the Tramandai inlet in Brazil. This collaborative research project studies dolphin-fisher interactions in these regions and examines how net-casting fishers and dolphins work together to catch fish, benefiting both humans and wild dolphins,” the university stated.
Research Objectives
This unique human-wildlife interaction raises key questions about how cooperative behaviors evolve in the wild and why this interaction is rare across species. With a focus on these three locations, the research team will test if the same behavior has evolved there. Furthermore, if the nature of all human-dolphin interactions is cooperative, the research will identify whether specific ecological conditions have contributed to the evolution of this cooperation. The project will also train KU researchers to establish long-term monitoring of each human-dolphin system and work to raise global awareness of the rare and declining cooperation between wild animals and humans.
Funding and Duration
Through this project, KU’s Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries will receive support of nearly Rs 1.2 crore, and the project is scheduled until March 2028. Using high-end instruments such as hydrophones and drones, direct photo-documentation of dolphins and their interactions, and interactions with fishers, the project aims to understand how dolphins and fishers interact and whether the same populations of dolphins exhibit this cooperative behavior.
Leadership
The project is internationally led by Dr. Mauricio Canter, head of the Laboratory for Animal Behavioral Interaction Research at Oregon State University. In India, it is led by Prof. A Biju Kumar, head of the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries and Vice-Chancellor of Kufos, and Dr. Dipani Sutaria, project scientist.
Significance
Prof. Kumar said, “This collaboration is highly relevant to India as Ashtamudi Lake is among the very few places in the world where humans and wild dolphins demonstrate cooperative interactions that benefit both species. Documenting these interactions offers a unique opportunity to understand the evolutionary mechanisms of cooperation in the wild, while simultaneously strengthening India’s global research profile, building local research capacity, and promoting sustainable fishing and conservation practices.”
