A 1.5-hour recording of six (Gulf of Mexico) captive common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at Sea Life Park, Hawaii shows that: 1) they have a song of a sequence of tonal (often slurred) notes. The evidence ...A 1.5-hour recording of six (Gulf of Mexico) captive common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at Sea Life Park, Hawaii shows that: 1) they have a song of a sequence of tonal (often slurred) notes. The evidence for their song comes from: a) their emitting songs that were complex (both tonally and rhythmically), b) their likely improvising (as inferred from their most complex songs not being repeated), c) songs based on a theme (used repeatedly), d) a bout of singing (at times) including social creativity, e) songs with a distinct beginning, middle and end section, and f) one song consisting of in part, a theme, 2) their songs are not sung in key (as determined from analysing the beginning tonal value of a note with spectral-frequency analysis), and 3) are sung in bouts, and 4) mostly with tonal-striated vocalizations (in the literature termed squawks and bray calls). Their apparent creativity (likely improvisations) and social creativity are of importance to how they evolved cognitively, to the study of song culture (between populations and delphinid species), understanding their (intra and inter-species) associations, and kinds of relationships, determining individual personalities, and perhaps will provide supporting evidence for their ability to reason. As inferred, they sing without being intentionally manipulative from: 1) their use of Gquic psychology [1] (as explained in this article), and 2) as inferred from their likely having an ability to reason [1] [2] (as deduced from their behavioural ecology (their unique exceptional evolutionary freedom), including their comparatively peaceful composure between conspecifics, in line with the proof of The Peaceful Composure Theorem), suggesting (per The Peaceful Composure Theorem) they have an egalitarian-like society. Their interspecies (displaced) aggression towards smaller odontocete species is shown to be a function of jealousies that emerge from their stronger social bonds than other species, from their compassionate nature, and females and males not pairing up in long-term associations. Species with greater cultural freedom are shown to have a more complex song providing further evidence for species culture not crucial to survival. The conclusive evidence for specie culture from my recent publications is of relevance to the scientific community’s acceptance of two new theories of evolution, and Gquic psychology. The loud burst-pulse sounds, chasing, charging and raking behaviours described in the literature could be a play behaviour, ought not be labelled as aggressive behaviours, as inferred from dog mock-fight play behaviour. In regard to future comparative behavioural ecology studies, aggressive animal behaviour should only be defined as an act of displacement (that is shown to commonly occur in the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin species (Tursiops aduncus)), or as acts of biting, and hitting.展开更多
The extent to which prey abundance influences both bottlenose dolphin foraging behavior and group size in the presence of human activities has not previously been studied.The primary aim of this study was to identify ...The extent to which prey abundance influences both bottlenose dolphin foraging behavior and group size in the presence of human activities has not previously been studied.The primary aim of this study was to identify and quantify how wild bottlenose dolphins respond,individually and as groups,to the relative abundance of prey around a fish farm.Detailed views of dolphins' behavior were obtained by focal following individual animals whilst simultaneously collecting surface and underwater behavioral data.A total of 2150 dive intervals were analyzed,corresponding to 342 focal samples,lasting over 34 hours.Bottlenose dolphins remained submerged for a mean duration of 46.4 seconds and a maximum of 249 seconds.This study provides the first quantified data on bottlenose dolphin diving behavior in a marine fin-fish farm area.This study's results indicate that within a fish farm area used intensively by bottlenose dolphins for feeding,dolphins did not modify dive duration.Additionally,underwater observations confirmed that dolphins find it easier to exploit a concentrated food source and it appears that hunting tactic and not group size plays an important role during feeding activities.Thus,bottlenose dolphins appear capable of modifying their hunting tactics according to the abundance of prey.When top predators display behavioral responses to activities not directed at them,the task of studying all possible effects of human activities can become even more challenging.展开更多
Knowledge of an animal＇s home range is a crucial component in making informed management decisions. However, many home range studies are limited by study area size, and therefore may underestimate the size of the hom...Knowledge of an animal＇s home range is a crucial component in making informed management decisions. However, many home range studies are limited by study area size, and therefore may underestimate the size of the home range. In many cases, individuals have been shown to travel outside of the study area and utilize a larger area than estimated by the study design. In this study, data collected by multiple research groups studying bottlenose dolphins on the east coast of Florida were combined to determine how home range estimates increased with increasing study area size. Home range analyses utilized photo-identification data collected from 6 study areas throughout the St Johns River （S JR; Jacksonville, FL, USA） and adjacent waterways, extending a total of 253km to the southern end of Mosquito Lagoon in the Indian River Lagoon Estuarine System. Univariate kernel density estimates （KDEs） were computed for individuals with 10 or more sightings （n= 20）. Kernels were calculated for the primary study area （S JR） first, then additional kernels were calculated by combining the S JR and the next adjacent waterway; this continued in an additive fashion until all study areas were included. The 95% and 50% KDEs calculated for the S JR alone ranged from 21 to 35 km and 4 to 19 kin, respectively. The 95% and 50% KDEs calculated for all combined study areas ranged from 116 to 217 km and 9 to 70 km, respectively. This study illustrates the degree to which home range may be underestimated by the use of limited study areas and demonstrates the benefits of conducting collaborative science.展开更多
Limited information still exists on the movements of bottlenose dolphins in South Australian coastal waters. There is, however, a need to overcome this paucity of information for an effective development and implement...Limited information still exists on the movements of bottlenose dolphins in South Australian coastal waters. There is, however, a need to overcome this paucity of information for an effective development and implementation of conservation and management initiatives in these waters that are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. This study infers potential movements of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) between Kangaroo Island that separate and shelter South Australian coastal waters from the Southern Ocean swell, and the South Australian mainland (The Fleurieu Peninsula and The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary). Bottlenose dolphins were identified from three separate photo-identification catalogues collated from around the South Australian coastline. Of the 3518, 654 and 181 dolphins sighted in Kangaroo Island, Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, 233, 74 and 40 individuals were recognizable, respectively. Resighting rates were similar in Kangaroo Island (70.4%) and Fleurieu Peninsula (75.7%), but much lower in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (35%). Ten individuals were resighted between Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula, whilst no matches were made between these two locations and the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary catalogue. This suggests a longitudinal connectivity between Kangaroo Island and South Australian mainland waters, but a lack of latitudinal connectivity that may result from the physical stratification processes that separate northern and southern South Australian waters. Our results also demonstrate the highly mobile nature of this species within South Australian waters as well as establish photo-identification as an effective non-invasive tool in which to monitor long-term movement patterns).展开更多
A method based on syntactic pattern recognition was presented to automatically classify whistles of bottlenose dolphin. Dolphin whistles have typically been characterized in terms of their instantaneous frequency as a...A method based on syntactic pattern recognition was presented to automatically classify whistles of bottlenose dolphin. Dolphin whistles have typically been characterized in terms of their instantaneous frequency as a function of time, which is also known as ＂whistle contour＂. The frequency variation features of a whistle were extracted according to its contour. Then, the frequency variation features were used for learning grammatical patterns. A whistle was classified according to grammatical pattern of its frequency variation features. The exper- imental results showed that the classification accuracy of the proposed method was 95%. The method can provide technical support for acoustic study of dolphins＇ biological behavior.展开更多
Data related to the presence of cetaceans and especially the bottlenose dolphin （Tursiops truncatus） in Lebanese marine waters （eastern Mediterranean） are almost non-existent. This article aims to delimit, for the...Data related to the presence of cetaceans and especially the bottlenose dolphin （Tursiops truncatus） in Lebanese marine waters （eastern Mediterranean） are almost non-existent. This article aims to delimit, for the first time, the areas of distribution and the relative abundance of T. truncatus along the Lebanese coasts in order to develop a strategy for the conservation of this species. Nine campaigns at sea, each lasting between 1 to 3 days, were conducted aboard the vessel ＂CANA＂ between September 2009 and August 2012 in Lebanese marine waters. A total of 1576 km in prospecting effort was covered along the Lebanese coast （220 km）. Dolphins were mainly sighted in the central region of Lebanon （120 km） and 32 sightings and 91 individuals were recorded. The size of the groups were ranged from a minimum of one individual and a maximum of 7 individuals. Relative abundance of T. truncatus for the whole studied region is 0.06 individuals＇km1 in prospecting effort while it is 0.11 individuals·km^-1 in Beirut area that offers habitats sought by this species. The bathymetric distribution of this species is spread over a wide range from a depth of 35 m to 1300 m. More than half of the individuals have been observed in areas where bathymetry ranges between 300 m and 600 m depths.展开更多
This study represents the first comprehensive analysis of the residency patterns of a coastal population of bottlenose dolphin off the coast of Aragua,Venezuela,over a multi-year period.Using photo-identification,the ...This study represents the first comprehensive analysis of the residency patterns of a coastal population of bottlenose dolphin off the coast of Aragua,Venezuela,over a multi-year period.Using photo-identification,the most recent study(2019-2020)identified 56 individuals with the time between encounters from one to 344 days between the first and last sighting.Site Fidelity(SF)and Residence(RES)indices were calculated and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering(AHC)modeling was performed,with three patterns of residence obtained:resident(25%),semi-resident(17.86%)and transient(57.14%).These results were contrasted with remodeled data from a previous study(2006-2007),showing similar patterns:resident(24.44%),semi-resident(28.89%)and transient(46.67%).Importantly,two individuals were found to have been resident over the extended period.A breeding female sighted for the first time in 2004 and again in 2020(16 years)and the other from 2005 to 2020(15 years).This region is an important area for marine mammals,known to support a resident reproductive population over many years,as well seabirds,sea turtles,whale sharks and fishermen.We recommend that consideration be given to designating the waters as a Marine Protected Area to safeguard the existing population and provide benefit to the surrounding marine environment.展开更多
文摘A 1.5-hour recording of six (Gulf of Mexico) captive common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at Sea Life Park, Hawaii shows that: 1) they have a song of a sequence of tonal (often slurred) notes. The evidence for their song comes from: a) their emitting songs that were complex (both tonally and rhythmically), b) their likely improvising (as inferred from their most complex songs not being repeated), c) songs based on a theme (used repeatedly), d) a bout of singing (at times) including social creativity, e) songs with a distinct beginning, middle and end section, and f) one song consisting of in part, a theme, 2) their songs are not sung in key (as determined from analysing the beginning tonal value of a note with spectral-frequency analysis), and 3) are sung in bouts, and 4) mostly with tonal-striated vocalizations (in the literature termed squawks and bray calls). Their apparent creativity (likely improvisations) and social creativity are of importance to how they evolved cognitively, to the study of song culture (between populations and delphinid species), understanding their (intra and inter-species) associations, and kinds of relationships, determining individual personalities, and perhaps will provide supporting evidence for their ability to reason. As inferred, they sing without being intentionally manipulative from: 1) their use of Gquic psychology [1] (as explained in this article), and 2) as inferred from their likely having an ability to reason [1] [2] (as deduced from their behavioural ecology (their unique exceptional evolutionary freedom), including their comparatively peaceful composure between conspecifics, in line with the proof of The Peaceful Composure Theorem), suggesting (per The Peaceful Composure Theorem) they have an egalitarian-like society. Their interspecies (displaced) aggression towards smaller odontocete species is shown to be a function of jealousies that emerge from their stronger social bonds than other species, from their compassionate nature, and females and males not pairing up in long-term associations. Species with greater cultural freedom are shown to have a more complex song providing further evidence for species culture not crucial to survival. The conclusive evidence for specie culture from my recent publications is of relevance to the scientific community’s acceptance of two new theories of evolution, and Gquic psychology. The loud burst-pulse sounds, chasing, charging and raking behaviours described in the literature could be a play behaviour, ought not be labelled as aggressive behaviours, as inferred from dog mock-fight play behaviour. In regard to future comparative behavioural ecology studies, aggressive animal behaviour should only be defined as an act of displacement (that is shown to commonly occur in the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin species (Tursiops aduncus)), or as acts of biting, and hitting.
基金Funding for this research came from the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute-BDRI and private donations
文摘The extent to which prey abundance influences both bottlenose dolphin foraging behavior and group size in the presence of human activities has not previously been studied.The primary aim of this study was to identify and quantify how wild bottlenose dolphins respond,individually and as groups,to the relative abundance of prey around a fish farm.Detailed views of dolphins' behavior were obtained by focal following individual animals whilst simultaneously collecting surface and underwater behavioral data.A total of 2150 dive intervals were analyzed,corresponding to 342 focal samples,lasting over 34 hours.Bottlenose dolphins remained submerged for a mean duration of 46.4 seconds and a maximum of 249 seconds.This study provides the first quantified data on bottlenose dolphin diving behavior in a marine fin-fish farm area.This study's results indicate that within a fish farm area used intensively by bottlenose dolphins for feeding,dolphins did not modify dive duration.Additionally,underwater observations confirmed that dolphins find it easier to exploit a concentrated food source and it appears that hunting tactic and not group size plays an important role during feeding activities.Thus,bottlenose dolphins appear capable of modifying their hunting tactics according to the abundance of prey.When top predators display behavioral responses to activities not directed at them,the task of studying all possible effects of human activities can become even more challenging.
文摘Knowledge of an animal＇s home range is a crucial component in making informed management decisions. However, many home range studies are limited by study area size, and therefore may underestimate the size of the home range. In many cases, individuals have been shown to travel outside of the study area and utilize a larger area than estimated by the study design. In this study, data collected by multiple research groups studying bottlenose dolphins on the east coast of Florida were combined to determine how home range estimates increased with increasing study area size. Home range analyses utilized photo-identification data collected from 6 study areas throughout the St Johns River （S JR; Jacksonville, FL, USA） and adjacent waterways, extending a total of 253km to the southern end of Mosquito Lagoon in the Indian River Lagoon Estuarine System. Univariate kernel density estimates （KDEs） were computed for individuals with 10 or more sightings （n= 20）. Kernels were calculated for the primary study area （S JR） first, then additional kernels were calculated by combining the S JR and the next adjacent waterway; this continued in an additive fashion until all study areas were included. The 95% and 50% KDEs calculated for the S JR alone ranged from 21 to 35 km and 4 to 19 kin, respectively. The 95% and 50% KDEs calculated for all combined study areas ranged from 116 to 217 km and 9 to 70 km, respectively. This study illustrates the degree to which home range may be underestimated by the use of limited study areas and demonstrates the benefits of conducting collaborative science.
文摘Limited information still exists on the movements of bottlenose dolphins in South Australian coastal waters. There is, however, a need to overcome this paucity of information for an effective development and implementation of conservation and management initiatives in these waters that are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities. This study infers potential movements of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) between Kangaroo Island that separate and shelter South Australian coastal waters from the Southern Ocean swell, and the South Australian mainland (The Fleurieu Peninsula and The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary). Bottlenose dolphins were identified from three separate photo-identification catalogues collated from around the South Australian coastline. Of the 3518, 654 and 181 dolphins sighted in Kangaroo Island, Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, 233, 74 and 40 individuals were recognizable, respectively. Resighting rates were similar in Kangaroo Island (70.4%) and Fleurieu Peninsula (75.7%), but much lower in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (35%). Ten individuals were resighted between Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula, whilst no matches were made between these two locations and the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary catalogue. This suggests a longitudinal connectivity between Kangaroo Island and South Australian mainland waters, but a lack of latitudinal connectivity that may result from the physical stratification processes that separate northern and southern South Australian waters. Our results also demonstrate the highly mobile nature of this species within South Australian waters as well as establish photo-identification as an effective non-invasive tool in which to monitor long-term movement patterns).
文摘A method based on syntactic pattern recognition was presented to automatically classify whistles of bottlenose dolphin. Dolphin whistles have typically been characterized in terms of their instantaneous frequency as a function of time, which is also known as ＂whistle contour＂. The frequency variation features of a whistle were extracted according to its contour. Then, the frequency variation features were used for learning grammatical patterns. A whistle was classified according to grammatical pattern of its frequency variation features. The exper- imental results showed that the classification accuracy of the proposed method was 95%. The method can provide technical support for acoustic study of dolphins＇ biological behavior.
文摘Data related to the presence of cetaceans and especially the bottlenose dolphin （Tursiops truncatus） in Lebanese marine waters （eastern Mediterranean） are almost non-existent. This article aims to delimit, for the first time, the areas of distribution and the relative abundance of T. truncatus along the Lebanese coasts in order to develop a strategy for the conservation of this species. Nine campaigns at sea, each lasting between 1 to 3 days, were conducted aboard the vessel ＂CANA＂ between September 2009 and August 2012 in Lebanese marine waters. A total of 1576 km in prospecting effort was covered along the Lebanese coast （220 km）. Dolphins were mainly sighted in the central region of Lebanon （120 km） and 32 sightings and 91 individuals were recorded. The size of the groups were ranged from a minimum of one individual and a maximum of 7 individuals. Relative abundance of T. truncatus for the whole studied region is 0.06 individuals＇km1 in prospecting effort while it is 0.11 individuals·km^-1 in Beirut area that offers habitats sought by this species. The bathymetric distribution of this species is spread over a wide range from a depth of 35 m to 1300 m. More than half of the individuals have been observed in areas where bathymetry ranges between 300 m and 600 m depths.
基金We thank the fisherman José“Cata”,Grisel Velásquez(UNISIG-IVIC),Laboratory of Ecosystems and Global Change,Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research,PADI Foundation(N°40470)the Cetacean Society International and the Society of Marine Mammalogy for their funding which enabled this study.
文摘This study represents the first comprehensive analysis of the residency patterns of a coastal population of bottlenose dolphin off the coast of Aragua,Venezuela,over a multi-year period.Using photo-identification,the most recent study(2019-2020)identified 56 individuals with the time between encounters from one to 344 days between the first and last sighting.Site Fidelity(SF)and Residence(RES)indices were calculated and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering(AHC)modeling was performed,with three patterns of residence obtained:resident(25%),semi-resident(17.86%)and transient(57.14%).These results were contrasted with remodeled data from a previous study(2006-2007),showing similar patterns:resident(24.44%),semi-resident(28.89%)and transient(46.67%).Importantly,two individuals were found to have been resident over the extended period.A breeding female sighted for the first time in 2004 and again in 2020(16 years)and the other from 2005 to 2020(15 years).This region is an important area for marine mammals,known to support a resident reproductive population over many years,as well seabirds,sea turtles,whale sharks and fishermen.We recommend that consideration be given to designating the waters as a Marine Protected Area to safeguard the existing population and provide benefit to the surrounding marine environment.
