At high speeds dolphins save energy by leaping

Abstract

An observer may wonder whether a school of ‘running’ dolphins, consisting of numerous, wildly splashing individuals, is using the most efficient mode of locomotion, because splashing wastes energy. Dolphins exhibit at least three modes of swimming. In leisurely, unhurried motion, they break the surface briefly and gently, often showing little more than the blowhole. At a faster, ‘cruising’ speed, frequently at 3–3.5 ms⁻¹ (6–7 knots), the animals are seen swimming primarily just beneath the surface, and there is still little splashing. (Behaviour and speeds of dolphin schools were observed from a helicopter and will be described elsewhere by D. A. and W. Ferryman.) Swimming speeds in this mode have been measured up to 4.6 ms⁻¹ (9.3 knots). But in the fastest ‘running’ mode, the animals clear the water in sequential, parabolic leaps, accompanied by considerable splashing on exit and re-entry (Fig. 1). Leaps are interspersed with relatively brief, subsurface swimming. This swimming is common when dolphins are alarmed by vessels approaching within 500 m. We have examined dolphin swimming in terms of energy required per unit distance travelled and report here that beyond a certain ‘crossover’ speed, leaping must be more efficient than swimming.