Dolphins communicate with each other in different 'accents', Channel Islands' research shows
ITV Channel presenters Jess Dunsdon and Jonathan Wills try to identify a dolphin's accent by listening to the noises it makes
Dolphins communicate with each other in different 'accents' according to research into the noises they make.
The mammals interact through clicking sounds which can sometimes be mistaken for whistling and vary in frequency, duration and gaps.
Jersey marine expert Dr Paul Chambers says the noises that dolphins make in the Channel Islands sound different to those in other parts of the world, although human ears are unlikely to be able to distinguish them.
He explains: "One of the funny things is that dolphins seem to have regional accents.
"The same dolphin species in different parts of the world produce clicks which have different frequencies, durations and gaps. For example, bottlenose dolphins in Tenerife, the Azores, South Wales and Jersey all produce different types of clicks to each other.
"Just as regional isolation in humans produces different speech accents, the same is true for dolphins and porpoises."
Marine experts use devices called hydrophones to detect where dolphins are and the noises they make.
Dr Chambers says: "The noises are produced by an organ in the head and work in the same way as bat echolocation, a click or pulse is fired out by the animal, it bounces off something and comes back."
Most sounds are beyond the human hearing range so technology is needed to analyse them.
Dolphin populations often live in small geographical areas so their sounds can vary between environments, similar to how people in different areas develop separate accents, even if they speak the same language.
Dr Chambers says bottlenose dolphins are the most common species in and around the Channel Islands, with around 400 to 450 of them living in the region.
He highlights Les Minquiers as Jersey's dolphin hotspot, especially during the summer, with several companies running regular wildlife boat tours.
On land, Dr Chambers says the end of St Catherine's Breakwater can be a good place to spot the mammals in the water.
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