Signature whistles are tricky, and not everyone agrees that they are actually a thing. There was a recent study done in Israel where dolphins appeared to be using signature whistles of dolphins who died some time ago. It could mean that either signature whistles are not what we think they are, or that dolphins have routine conversations about their dead companions.
Oh, that's not very helpful..
> we do not know if dolphins indeed label things in their natural communication system
I believe we'd need to start with that as a basic assumption for how language works to begin with. How does that assumption seem to you?
> dolphins appeared to be using signature whistles of dolphins who died some time ago
I guess they probably talk about loved ones even when they're not in the same "room", same as us.
> Signature whistles are tricky
"Signature whistle" seems like an awfully complicated way to say "name".
Denise Herzing id'd seaweed, right?
Perhaps there are other ones easy to identify through existing sub-sea-level candid camera videos: hey, there's a [food they eat], let's go over there; help / danger, there's a [thing they fear]; I forgot my [phone / wallet / keys] in my other pair of pants, brb...
> we struggle to determine who produces the sound
What about based on signature whistles for addressing one another? It looks like there's a good amount of info on how they use it, so that could help, right?
> it is a cacophony
What about looking for only "vocal copy" instances between individuals to use as markers?