• Question: What is echolocation?

    Asked by charlyjoy to Valeria, Charlotte, Jo, Kevin, Louise on 12 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by joyburgess, jessc, kchapman28.
    • Photo: Valeria Senigaglia

      Valeria Senigaglia answered on 12 Jun 2012:

      Echolocation is a mechanism that dolphins use to navigate and search for things. Is their way to “see” when it’s all dark.
      Dolphins emit sounds (called clicks), sounds form waves that start from the source and propagate around the dolphins. You may think of a stone thrown in the water, it makes circular waves start start small near the stone and than becomes bigger and bigger.
      When these waves hit an object, like a fish, they bounce back to the dolphins that translate this message using an organ called melon that they have in their foreheads.
      Echolocation is extremely useful when you are at 2000 meters depth where it’s all dark and you are trying to find some juicy squid.

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