Have you ever noticed how best friends tend to talk like each other?

Whether it's chickadees or chimps, scientists have found that numerous species will tweak their calls to resemble those of their closest compatriots.

However, the exact opposite seems to be true for male bottlenose dolphins in Western Australia's Shark Bay, according to a study published June 7 in the journal Current Biology.

Decades of research in the region has shown unrelated males team up in groups of two to three. This improves their chances at finding and breeding with females, which live in their own family-based pods. Additionally, several of these male duos or trios will sometimes form larger, second-level alliances—some of which can last their lifetimes. (Read