For my course project I choose the topic, communication between marine mammals and their social structure. The reason I choose this topic is because it aligns with my concentration and gives me an opportunity to learn a bit more about what I want to do as a career and if this is something I want to do research studies on. Initially, I did not think that the communication between marine mammals would be so complicated. Not to mention that the project was only about marine mammals and not other types of marine life. Then getting into the social structures of marine mammals was even more complicated then the communication because of how each mammal is slightly different while also having their social structure between different species types.

While writing the essay and PowerPoint part of the project, I have come to learn that it is easier for me to write about a topic that I get to choose and a topic that interests me. Some writing assignments throughout college are predetermined topics that I have a difficult time finding the motivation to write about something that does not interest me at all.

Besides all that a brief overview of the course project is that marine mammals have two basic ways of communicating with one another, vocal and non-vocal communications. Vocal communication being clicks, whistles, and other types of sounds that the mammals will make to either their same species or other species. It has been determine that dolphins can understand some clicks and whistles that whales make and they can communication with one another. Non-verbal communication is body language and movement. When a whale is moving past for no reason and slapping around its fins, it can be seen as being frustrated for some reason. Different species can also determine other species body language. The social structure is a bit more complicated where some species like to be in solitude like manatees and males in some types of whales. While other species like dolphins stay in large groups called pods. Some species like walrus have hierarchical social structures where the biggest and strongest male will dominate part of a beach and will have control on who can breed on their beach. Overall, communication and social structures within marine mammals are connect and can provide an insight into how they develop and evolve over time.