What process lets dolphins locate objects using reflected clicks?

Echolocation lets dolphins locate objects using reflected clicks.

A dolphin produces high-frequency sounds through structures in its nasal passages and directs the sound through the melon, a fatty organ in its forehead. When the sound waves strike prey or another object, echoes return to the dolphin. Its lower jaw and inner ear receive and analyse those echoes.

From timing, loudness, and frequency changes, a dolphin can infer an object’s distance, size, shape, and movement. Echolocation helps dolphins hunt in dark or murky water where vision is limited. Different species produce distinctive clicks and whistles, and dolphins also use sounds for social communication.

Echolocation is not the same as ordinary hearing: it is an active sensing system in which the animal sends out sounds and interprets the returning echoes. Bats independently evolved a comparable ability in air.