Low mtDNA diversity in a highly differentiated population of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) from the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Brazil

The aim of this work is to describe the repertoire of calls utilized by the spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in the southern Atlantic Ocean. We measured four acoustic parameters of the fundamental frequency of each call: (i) duration; (ii) frequency amplitude; (iii) minimum frequency; and (iv) maximum frequency. We also classified calls by their shape contour by visual inspection of the spectrograms. The obtained values for call duration were 0.046 to 2.08 seconds (mean 0.433, standard deviation (SD) 0.433), amplitude of 0.13 to 2.01 kHz (mean of 0.36, SD 0.29), minimum frequency of 0.22 to 1.80 (mean 0.55, SD 0.29), maximum frequency of 0.46 to 7.50 (mean 1.00, SD 0.89). We classified 73 calls by spectral contour, identifying six basic types of discernible calls, showing heterogeneity among the call types, with C1, C2 and C3 calls presenting higher frequencies, 21, 30 and 23%, respectively. We found that the calls of S. longirostris in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago are more diverse and complex than previously recognized for spinner dolphins and further studies worldwide can reinforce the broad use of this sound for the species repertoire.

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Occurrence and Behavior of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris) Along Oahu's Leeward and South Shores

Aquatic Mammals ◽

10.1578/am.30.2.2004.237 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 237-250 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Marc O. Lammers

Keyword(s):

Stenella Longirostris ◽

Spinner Dolphins ◽

And Behavior

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Effect of vessels and swimmers on the behavior of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) off the Big Island of Hawai'i

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.2932508 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 123 (5) ◽

pp. 2984-2984 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Carmen Bazúa Durán ◽

Nina V. Luna Valiente

Keyword(s):

Stenella Longirostris ◽

Spinner Dolphins

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Structure and phylogeography of two tropical predators, spinner ( Stenella longirostris ) and pantropical spotted ( S. attenuata ) dolphins, from SNP data

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.171615 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 171615 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Matthew S. Leslie ◽

Phillip A. Morin

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Pacific Ocean ◽

Nuclear Dna ◽

Population Level ◽

Genetic Connectivity ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Stenella Longirostris ◽

Spinner Dolphin ◽

Spinner Dolphins ◽

Almost All

Little is known about global patterns of genetic connectivity in pelagic dolphins, including how circumtropical pelagic dolphins spread globally following the rapid and recent radiation of the subfamily delphininae. In this study, we tested phylogeographic hypotheses for two circumtropical species, the spinner dolphin ( Stenella longirostris ) and the pantropical spotted dolphin ( Stenella attenuata ), using more than 3000 nuclear DNA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in each species. Analyses for population structure indicated significant genetic differentiation between almost all subspecies and populations in both species. Bayesian phylogeographic analyses of spinner dolphins showed deep divergence between Indo-Pacific, Atlantic and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) lineages. Despite high morphological variation, our results show very close relationships between endemic ETP spinner subspecies in relation to global diversity. The dwarf spinner dolphin is a monophyletic subspecies nested within a major clade of pantropical spinner dolphins from the Indian and western Pacific Ocean populations. Population-level division among the dwarf spinner dolphins was detected—with the northern Australia population being very different from that in Indonesia. In contrast to spinner dolphins, the major boundary for spotted dolphins is between offshore and coastal habitats in the ETP, supporting the current subspecies-level taxonomy. Comparing these species underscores the different scale at which population structure can arise, even in species that are similar in habitat (i.e. pelagic) and distribution.

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Discriminating features of echolocation clicks of melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and Gray’s spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris longirostris)

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.3479549 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 128 (4) ◽

pp. 2212-2224 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Simone Baumann-Pickering ◽

Sean M. Wiggins ◽

John A. Hildebrand ◽

Marie A. Roch ◽

Hans-Ulrich Schnitzler

Keyword(s):

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

Bottlenose Dolphins ◽

Stenella Longirostris ◽

Spinner Dolphins

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Whalesuckers and a spinner dolphin bonded for weeks: does host fidelity pay off?

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/s1676-06032003000200012 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

José Martins Silva-Jr ◽

Ivan Sazima

Keyword(s):

First Record ◽

Host Fidelity ◽

Social Nature ◽

Eastern Brazil ◽

Individual Host ◽

North Eastern ◽

Fernando De Noronha ◽

In The Wild ◽

Spinner Dolphins ◽

First Time

The whalesucker Remora australis (Echeneidae) is an oceanic diskfish found attached to cetaceans only and its habits are therefore poorly known. At the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, off North-eastern Brazil, spinner dolphins Stenella longirostris (Delphinidae) regularly congregate in large groups in a shallow bay, which allows for underwater observations of their behaviour and their fish associates. In the course of a broader study of this elusive diskfish, we had the opportunity to made multiple records of two whalesucker couples (three of the fish naturally marked) attached to the same individual dolphin in two different years, over periods of 47 and 87 days respectively. In all the sightings the whalesucker individuals of a couple were recorded side-by-side and positioned on their host’s belly. We surmise that at least one of the couples was a reproductive pair, as the belly of the larger fish was noticeably swollen in the last sighting, and the bulge on its belly was bilateral and extended almost uniformly to the vent, a strong indication of fully mature gonads. Moreover, its size matched those of the mature females of this diskfish species. To our knowledge, this is the first time that attachment fidelity of the whalesucker to any cetacean host is documented in the wild. We hypothesize that attachment fidelity to the same individual host increases the whalesucker’s chance to mate, and suggest further that the highly social nature of the spinner dolphins facilitates encounters between potential mating partners. Our study indicates that host fidelity possibly is not an uncommon feature of the whalesucker behaviour, albeit difficult to recognise. In one of the above recorded whalesuckers the natural marking was a crescentic scar characteristic of the wounds inflicted by the cookiecutter Isistius brasiliensis (Dalatiidae), a first record of the attack of this shark to any diskfish species.

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