Female dolphins remember who is aggressive when choosing a mating partner, research shows Female bottlenose dolphins can identify and avoid aggressive males by remembering their unique signature whistles and past coercive behaviors during mating season. This research, conducted on Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Western Australia, suggests females use this information to inform their mating decisions. Unlike reproductively available females, older or calf-carrying females showed less avoidance, indicating a targeted response based on reproductive strategy.

• Female dolphins identify males by their unique signature whistles and track their past behavior.
• During mating season, males form alliances to aggressively herd females into consortships.
• Females avoid males exhibiting higher rates of coercion, suggesting they remember past aggressive interactions.
• Consortships can be physically costly and involve lost foraging time for females.
• The study used signature whistles played underwater to observe female dolphin responses.
• Reproductively available females showed stronger avoidance to whistles of more coercive males.
• Unavailable females (older or with calves) did not display the same level of avoidance.
• This behavior highlights the complexity of dolphin societies and female decision-making in mate selection.