Individual movements between local coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the northern and eastern Black Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Gladilina ◽  
Olga Shpak ◽  
Valentin Serbin ◽  
Anna Kryukova ◽  
Dmitry Glazov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Small Range ◽  
Short Term ◽  
High Population Growth ◽  
Physical Barriers

The Black Sea subspecies of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) is threatened and has a small range. Its population structure is little known: it possibly includes a few local coastal populations. We assessed connectivity between coastal groupings in six localities along 800 km of the coastline based on records of photo-identified animals between 2004 and 2014. Abundance of these groupings, as estimated, ranged between 76 and 174 individually distinctive dolphins. In total, there were 350 identified individuals, of which 91 (26%) were resighted within the same areas. However, only three cases of individual movements between local coastal populations were recorded at the distances between 135 and 325 km. Therefore, despite the absence of physical barriers, the coastal Black Sea population is fragmented into numerous resident or locally migrating groupings with site fidelity. These local populations are loosely connected to each other with rare movements between them. This fragmentation can be a factor contributing to short-term fluctuations in abundance of Black Sea bottlenose dolphins and their decline in some localities, despite the potentially high population growth rate.

Inshore and offshore bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) communities distinguished by association patterns near Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly A Rossbach ◽  
Denise L Herzing
Keyword(s):  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Association Patterns ◽  
Simple Ratio ◽  
Water Depths

Little is known about the behavior of offshore dolphin populations. Our purpose was to distinguish and describe stable social groups of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) between inshore and offshore West End, Grand Bahama Island (26°42'N, 79°00'W). Photoidentification was conducted from May to September, 1994 to 1996. A simple ratio index described association patterns between dolphins. Multidimensional scaling of association indices (n = 1711 dolphin pairs) distinguished two dolphin communities consisting of 28 dolphins (19 of known sex) found inshore and 15 dolphins (12 of known sex) found greater than or equal to 27 km offshore. Eight of the 15 offshore dolphins were opportunistically photographed in the same region between 1986 and 1990. The two communities were found at different water depths (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.01), over distinct bottom types (Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.01), and used different bottom-foraging strategies. Long-term site fidelity of up to 10 years and repeated dolphin associations of up to 8 years occurred greater than or equal to 27 km from shore. Dolphins sighted greater than or equal to 15 times averaged 48 associates (SD = 11, n = 28). A dolphin's closest associate was of the same gender 74% of the time. This study is the first to report long-term site fidelity and association patterns of bottlenose dolphins found far from shore.

Diphyllobothrium stemmacephalum Cobbold, 1858 (Diphyllobothriidea) from common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus (Montagu) from the Texas Gulf coast, USA

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4379 (3) ◽  
pp. 448
Author(s):  
SOPHIA M. SÁNCHEZ ◽  
LIAT Y. GOLDSTEIN ◽  
NORMAN O. DRONEN
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Harbor Porpoise ◽  
Pilot Whale ◽  
The North ◽  
Common Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
The North Sea

Cobbold (1858) established Diphyllobothrium Cobbold, 1858 with the description of Diphyllobothrium stemmacephalum Cobbold, 1858 from the common harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus) (Phocoenidae), from the North Sea off Scotland. Diphyllobothrium stemmacephalum typically has been reported from a number of Phocoenidae and Delphinidae hosts from a variety of localities: common harbor porpoise from the northern Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea and Black sea (e.g. Cobbold, 1858; Delyamure 1955; Delyamure 1968; Delyamure 1971; Delyamure et al. 1985; Anderson, 1987); bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus (Montagu), from the Gulf of Mexico (Ward & Collins 1959), the Black sea (Delyamure et al. 1985); common harbor porpoise off Newfoundland (Brattey & Stenson 1995), the Black Sea (Krivokhizin & Birkun 1994 [see Yera et al. 2008]), off Denmark (Herreras et al. 1997); long-finned pilot whale, Globicephala melas [Traill], North Atlantic off Faroe Island (Balbuena & Raga 1993); Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus [Gray], off Massachusetts (Olson & Caira 1999). 

scholarly journals New Prey Fishes in Diet of Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus (Mammalia, Cetacea)

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. V. Gladilina ◽  
P. E. Gol’din
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Horse Mackerel ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Important Prey ◽  
Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Abstract We report 7 new prey fishes in diet of the Black Sea bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) and the first records of 9 prey items from their stomach contents: herring (Alosa sp.), sand smelt (Atherina sp.), horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus), picarel (Spicara flexuosa), Mediterranean sand eel (Gymnammodytes cicerellus), Atlantic stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber), garfish (Belone belone), gobies (Gobiidae indet.) and blennies (Blenniidae indet.). Th e Atlantic stargazer was recorded as a prey species for the common bottlenose dolphin for the first time. Th e horse mackerel and the picarel, formerly recorded in the diet of Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins, now were frequently found in the examined Black Sea dolphins. Th e list of prey fishes for Black Sea bottlenose dolphins now includes 23 items, with many small pelagic and demersal fishes, and it is similar to that of Mediterranean dolphins. Whiting (Merlangius merlangus) is still an important prey species, as 50-70 years ago, whereas turbot (Psetta maeotica), not recorded by us, could lose its importance due to population decline. As before, red mullet (Mullus barbatus) is recorded in winter feeding. Feeding on mullets (Mugilidae) is not a universal trait, and it is possibly restricted to local geographical areas.

scholarly journals The first record of a piebald common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in offshore waters of the north-western Black Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (19) ◽  
pp. 103-107
Author(s):  
Oksana Savenko ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Dorsal Fin ◽  
The North ◽  
Common Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
North Western

Piebaldism is one of three types of hypopigmentation of animals, when some areas on the skin have no pigments. Anomalously white cetaceans are rare, although they have been reported in more than 20 different cetacean species, including the common bottlenose dolphin, which in the Black Sea is recognized as an endangered endemic subspecies — the Black Sea bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ponticus Barabash-Nikiforov, 1940). Its main habitat in the north-western Black Sea region is the coastal waters, however, these dolphins also occur offshore. Thirty cases of anomalously white bottlenose dolphins have been reported from the Black Sea, which were unevenly distributed, and only a few sightings have been reported from the north-western Black Sea. Cetacean observations were conducted in the Ukrainian part of the north-western Black Sea waters in April 2017, onboard the research vessel "Auguste Piccard". All encountered cetaceans were photographed, and individual distinctiveness of dorsal fin images was used for their photo-identification. On 13 April 2017, four groups of up to four individuals of bottlenose dolphins were encountered in the same area at a distance of 61 km south of Odesa (34 km from the nearest coast). The depth at the observation site was about 20 m. The initially observed type of dolphins’ behavior was feeding. However, two groups changed their behavior and followed the vessel by 5–6 individuals for approximately 18 minutes. The joint group consisted of adults and one juvenile individual. Among the adults, there was one piebald specimen with white patches on its dorsal fin, peduncle, and tail fluke. The piebald dolphin was photographed and photo-identified. Our research has shown that piebald Black sea bottlenose dolphins occur not only in the coastal waters, but also in offshore waters of the north-western Black Sea. However, the frequency of such hypopigmentation in local populations remains unknown. Further intensive photo-identification and genetic sampling of local stocks of the Black Sea bottlenose dolphins are necessary for the assessment of their population genetic structure and its divergence.

The prevalence of antibodies to morbilliviruses, Brucella, and Toxoplasma in the Black Sea bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus ponticus maintained in captivity

2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 425-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Yu. Alekseev ◽  
E. I. Rozanova ◽  
E. N. Ustinova ◽  
Yu. I. Tumanov ◽  
I. N. Kuvshinova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphin ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
In Captivity

Seasonal Abundance and Site Fidelity of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Mississippi Sound

2004 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie W. Hubard ◽  
Kathy Maze-Foley ◽  
Keith D. Mullin ◽  
William W. Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Mississippi Sound

SHORT-TERM DYNAMICS OF THE ANAPA BAY-BAR SHORELINE

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Krylenko ◽  
Marina Krylenko ◽  
Alexandr Aleynikov ◽  
Alexandr Aleynikov ◽  
Viacheslav Krylenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Satellite Images ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Northwestern Part ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Shoreline Position ◽  
Local Dynamics ◽  
Average Displacement ◽  
Local Erosion

The Anapa bay-bar is located in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. With the goal in mind to determine the short-term dynamics of the Anapa bay-bar we analyzed satellite images from 2003 to the present. Depending on the hydro-lithodynamical situation the shoreline configuration during storm can vary from a rectilinear to sinusoidal forms. There are regions of local erosion or accumulation whose formation is related to the alongshore motion of sediments and dynamics of underwater bars. Comparison of the data on 1965 and 1966 showed that in this period the amplitude of the shoreline position was more than 20 m but average displacement of the shoreline for 13 months was only 0.8 m. This study showed that for the analysis of changes in the shoreline position is necessary to consider the configuration of the coastline at the time of each observation and the local dynamics.

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