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FOR KIDS: No more bubble trouble
Dolphin’s clicks help scientists sort through confusing underwater noises
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Dolphin’s clicks help scientists sort through confusing underwater noises

By Stephen Ornes

Web edition: August 10, 2012

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Bottlenose dolphins can teach scientists how to tell the difference between noisy echoes bounced off of bubbles and other objects.
Emma Jugovich, NOAA

Dolphins hunt using sonar, sending clicks through the water and listening for the echoes. When its clicks bounce back, an animal knows where to find its dinner. But dolphins have also been observed blowing out streams of tiny bubbles as they hunt. Scientists now realize those clicks provide a means to sift through and find useful underwater sounds.

Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: No more bubble trouble

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M. Rosen. Test decodes dolphins’ math skills. Science News, Vol. 182, July 19, 2012, p. 12. [Go to]

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