Male Indo‐pacific bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia, have converged with humans in the formation of nested male alliances and the use of synchrony in alliance behavior. Further, the strength of association among allied male dolphins varies and the stability of alliances correlates with the rate that males consort with estrus females (and is thus a possible indicator of dominance). To examine the possibility that synchrony reflects alliance association strength and dominance relationships, we analyzed videotapes from focal follows of two groups of males that reflect the range of alliance size and the strength of association between individuals in the population. We examined two variables: leadership during synchronous behaviors, based on which animal in a synchronously surfacing pair surfaced first, and the degree of synchrony, based on temporal differences in synchronous surfacing. We predicted that closer associates would exhibit a greater degree of synchrony and that one dolphin in a dyad would consistently lead. Contrary to our predictions, the degree of synchrony was inversely related to strength of association within alliances. This surprising result suggests that individuals with less secure bonds may strive more to achieve synchrony. We found no evidence of leadership during synchronous surfacing or between synchrony and other behavioral variables. Proximate mechanisms for synchronous behavior, such as entrainment and mutual motor imitation (“the mirror game” paradigm), may inhibit leadership in this context. Our results show that synchrony during surfacing is not a useful behavior to examine for dominance relationships in wild dolphins but it may be a useful tool to examine variation in alliance relationships.

中文翻译：

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雄性印度太平洋宽吻海豚 (Tursiops aduncus) 的同步性、领导力和关联性

西澳大利亚鲨鱼湾的雄性印度太平洋宽吻海豚在形成嵌套雄性联盟和在联盟行为中使用同步性方面与人类汇合。此外，联盟雄性海豚之间的联系强度各不相同，联盟的稳定性与雄性与发情雌性配偶的比率相关（因此可能是优势的指标）。为了检验同步性反映联盟关联强度和支配关系的可能性，我们分析了来自两组男性的焦点跟踪的录像带，这些录像带反映了联盟规模的范围和群体中个体之间的关联强度。我们检查了两个变量：同步行为中的领导力，基于同步浮出水面的动物首先浮出水面，以及同步程度，基于同步曲面的时间差异。我们预测，更亲密的伙伴会表现出更大程度的同步性，并且一对海豚中的一只海豚将始终领先。与我们的预测相反，同步程度与联盟内的关联强度成反比。这一令人惊讶的结果表明，联系不太安全的人可能会更加努力地实现同步。我们在同步浮出水面期间或同步与其他行为变量之间没有发现领导力的证据。在这种情况下，同步行为的近似机制，例如夹带和相互模仿（“镜像游戏”范式），可能会抑制领导力。