Dolphins Talk on Cell Phone
Irish scientists have joined forces with British mobile phone company Vodaphone to pipe live sounds from a dolphin sanctuary to cell phone users (who would rather be swimming with the dolphins than sitting in traffic or boring meetings). But what the dolphins have to say may be "Shaddup!"

The Shannon estuary area at Kilrush, in County Clare on the west coast of Ireland, is the country's only year-round residence of these talkative sea mammals. Marine biologists there are planning to connect hydrophones (underwater microphones) to the mobile phone system, so that phone users anywhere in the world can Dial-a-Dolphin 24-7.

The creatures' distinctive clicks and whistles could be a source of relaxation for nature lovers, or an advance indication of the level of dolphin activity for would-be visitors to the sanctuary.

Technical problems include the very wide range of frequencies that dolphins use (a challenge for phone systems, as well for as human ears) and the noise of strong local ocean currents and swells.

According to the journal Nature, strong sonar signals -- essentially, sound waves created to help submarine crews "see" their surroundings, and to help security forces to detect hostile submarines -- have long been thought to be one cause of mass strandings of whales and dolphins.

These cetacean creatures use their own sounds in a similar way to "echolocate" objects in the water, and have developed highly sensitive sound detection and signal processing organs.

Now there is evidence than human-generated blasts of sonar can overwhelm their senses and disorient them, causing them to rush to the surface too quickly. The result can be painful and even dangerous formation of nitrogen bubbles in their blood. Up to this point, many scientists had believed that cetaceans could not get decompression sickness.

More studies are planned.

Learn more about the Shannon region's dolphins, including its annual dolphin festival

Read the news story about cell phones

Read an article on how sonar may cause "the bends" in dolphins