Short-term reactions and long-term responses of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to remote biopsy sampling

2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Tezanos-Pinto ◽  
CS Baker
Keyword(s):  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Short Term

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.

scholarly journals Modeling lacaziosis lesion progression in common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus using  long-term photographic records

2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Burdett Hart ◽  
RS Wells ◽  
JD Adams ◽  
DS Rotstein ◽  
LH Schwacke
Keyword(s):  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Photographic Records

scholarly journals Occurrence of Brucella ceti in stranded bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus coincides with calving season

2020 ◽  
Vol 141 ◽  
pp. 185-193
Author(s):  
WE McFee ◽  
D Wu ◽  
K Colegrove ◽  
K Terio ◽  
L Balthis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Marine Bacterium ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Terrestrial Species ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Calving Season

Brucellosis is a disease caused by the Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium Brucella spp. In terrestrial species, this zoonotic bacterium is a global public health risk, but there is also concern over the zoonotic potential of marine forms, such as B. ceti, which affects cetaceans. Due to the detection of B. ceti in samples from bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus during the 2010-2014 Gulf of Mexico Unusual Mortality Event, a long-term study of the prevalence of Brucella in stranded bottlenose dolphins from South Carolina, USA, was conducted. From 2012 through 2017, 282 stranded bottlenose dolphins were tested for B. ceti via real-time PCR. Nearly 32% of the dolphins tested positive in at least one sample (brain, lung, blowhole swab). Very little information exists in the literature on the occurrence of Brucella spp. in marine mammals, though in terrestrial species, such as cattle and elk, higher prevalence is often reported in spring. Similar results were found in this study with the peak occurrence being between March and June, a known period of calving in South Carolina. Results from this study provide important insights into the occurrence of the marine bacterium B. ceti.

scholarly journals Long-term site fidelity and residency patterns of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Tramandaí Estuary, southern Brazil

10.5597/00224 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Baron Di Giacomo ◽  
Paulo Henrique Ott
Keyword(s):  
Tursiops Truncatus ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Local Conservation ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Average Observation ◽  
Number Of Individuals

The occurrence of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Tramandaí Estuary, southern Brazil, is described based on a photo-identification study conducted between January 2009 and February 2010. A total of 128 survey days were conducted with an average observation effort of 2.6 hours per day (SD = 0.6). Approximately 2050 photographs were taken from a shore land location at the mouth of the estuary. A total of nine dolphins were identified, including three calves. The dolphins were observed during all seasons, with a greater frequency during fall (79.3% of the days) and winter (60.7% of the days). The summer presented the lowest occurrence (2.4% of the days) of dolphins. During the entire study period, the maximum number of individuals sighted in any given day ranged from one to seven (average = 2.8 dolphins; SD = 1.35; n = 51). The residence indices, based on the resighting frequency of dolphins during the study period, ranged from 0.02 to 0.24 (average = 0.13; SD = 0.08; n = 9). However, most of the animals (67%) were resighted in over five months during a year and could be classified as residents. Longterm site fidelity was detected by resightings of four dolphins for over 18 years. These data combined reinforce the importance of the Tramandaí Estuary for the common bottlenose dolphins in the region and highlight the need for local conservation efforts to guarantee the long-term persistence of these coastal populations.

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