Worldwide research of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) has led to varied definitions and terminology regarding ways to group dolphins for study and management. An understanding of the demographic history and population structure of bottlenose dolphins residing within the Indian River Lagoon Estuary System (IRLES), Florida, is needed to help define the IRLES dolphin population: ecotype, population, or community. Using mitochondrial DNA sequencing and microsatellite genotyping, this study detected: (1) genetic differentiation between estuarine and coastal individuals (FstmtDNA=0.414, Fstmsat=0.057; p<0.05; K=2), (2) genetic differentiation between the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) and Mosquito Lagoon (ML) (FstmtDNA=0.0201, Fstmsat=0.0234; p<0.09), and (3) minute undefined sub-structure within the IRLES (FstmtDNA=-0.00 -0.0379, Fstmsat=0.00 - vii 0.0445; p>0.1). Additionally, within ML this study detected non-mixing cohabitation of two potential ecotypes, estuarine and coastal. These findings raise many questions regarding how dolphins are presently categorized and managed which are critical to population assessments including abundance, vital rates, and health. / by Sarah E. Rodgers. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Thomas G. Muir, Steven R. Baker, Samuel H. Ridgway. Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-130). Also available online.

During long-term studies of dolphins, the number of individuals in the population being studied are constantly monitored using the technique of photo-identification. This constant monitoring makes use of different researchers over time. Therefore, measurement of photographic quality and individual distinctiveness for photo-identification analyses was incorporated in this dissertation to provide an additional data set for analysis. Researchers with differing levels of experiences did not obtain the same information from the same photograph and were unable to reliably quantify variables of photo quality and individual distinctiveness, but experienced researchers were found to be more adept than inexperienced researchers in counting notches on the dorsal fin of bottlenose dolphins. These results highlight the necessity for researchers to be trained in photo-identification techniques prior to carrying out their study. This study theodolite tracked dolphins off Durban from June 2004 to Feb 2005 to assess habitat utilization of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the Durban bay region. Dolphins were seen in all months surveyed and throughout the survey area. Temporal distribution of dolphins was skewed with 91% of dolphins seen before midday and 98% of sightings observed in water depths less than 30m. Six behavioural categories were recorded, including: social, fast travel, slow travel, feeding, resting and milling. The most dominant behaviour exhibited by dolphins was slow travel (46%) followed by feeding (27%). Resting was not observed at all. Of the feeding behaviour 88% occurred in the southern end of the bay whereas other behaviours occurred randomly throughout the survey area. Additional theodolite tracks were conducted during experimental boat approaches (before, during and after boat approaches) to determine potential short-term reactions of dolphins to dolphin watching boats. Two speeds of approach (slow ~ < 5 km/hr and fast ~ > 40 km/hr) and two distances of approach (20m and 80 m) were tested. The bottlenose dolphin groups did not change their behaviour in response to boat approaches during any of the periods of experimentation. Short-term changes in group speed, group size and spread were not statistically significant. Dolphin groups continued with their ‘normal’ behaviour and spent the same amount of time in the bay when compared to their distribution and behaviour in the absence of the experimental boat. These findings indicate that the experimental boat did not affect the behaviour of dolphins at either a slow or fast approach and even at a close distance. This is interpreted as being as a result of habituation of the dolphins due to their residency in a busy port. This work is crucial in developing guidelines for the development of a sustainable dolphin watching industry off Durban. / Thesis (M.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1976. / Bibliography: leaves 113-121. / Microfiche. / vii, 121 leaves ill. 29 cm

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Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are apex predators and indicators of localized ecosystem health. Accurate characterization of population demography is crucial to parameter predictions. However, descriptions of age growth investigations of odontocetes are limited to the postnatal life. In contrast, the modeled scenario for terrestrial mammalian growth has been described along a continuum of pre- and postnatal data. Few age distribution data exist for the western Gulf of Mexico despite the fact that life tables enable demographic comparisons among populations. The objective of this study was to characterize age, growth, and population-level behavior of bottlenose dolphins along Texas. This objective was accomplished by two discrete studies: age analysis, and population-level behavior. Teeth from 290 stranded individuals were extracted for the purposes of age determination. Curvilinear models (the Gompertz and the von Bertalanffy) were fit to postnatal length-at-age data. Fetal age was determined for 408 suspected fetal length records using validated fetal growth trends and empirical measurements from late-term fetuses. Growth analysis indicated that a Gompertz model fit length-at-age data better than a von Bertalanffy model. A postnatal Gompertz model explained less variation than a combined pre- and postnatal model (R2 = 0.9 and 0.94 respectively). The absolute growth rate and rate of growth decay tripled with the inclusion of fetal length and age data. In the second study, life tables were constructed for 280 individuals. Survivorship curves, mortality rates, intrinsic capacity for increase, and the population growth rate were calculated. Bottlenose dolphin mortality did not differ significantly by sex or age class. Survivorship was best characterized by a type III curve. Analyses indicated no substantial increase (r = -0.07), and that the population is not replacing itself in the next time-step (y = 0.93). Bottlenose dolphins conform to a number of eutherian mammalian trends: the production of precocial young, calving seasonality, and rapid fetal growth rate. Population level behavior suggests a population retraction possibly as a compensatory response to ecosystem perturbation rather than a population decline. Reproductive information will confirm population status and stability in the future. This study is the first to demonstrate a significant impact of cetacean fetal growth parameters on postnatal growth trajectory.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves : [49]-50).

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) is a common top predator along the KwaZulu-Natal coast. There have been several dietary studies done on this species, most of which have classed this predator as an opportunistic feeder preying on the most abundant prey species in that area. In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) a dietary study was carried out in 1990, but there have been no followup studies to examine potential changes in diet. A number of bottlenose dolphins get entangled in the shark-nets set off the KZN coast each year. These dolphins provide a valuable source of information about different aspects of the ecology of this population. The aim of this study was to examine the diet of bottlenose dolphins off the KwaZulu-Natal coast with particular emphasis on temporal change in diet composition. The contents of 102 stomachs of bottlenose dolphins (58 females, 44 males) accidentally caught in the shark nets between 1985 and 2010 were analysed, and compared to historical data from dolphins caught between 1975 and 1986. A total of 94 different prey species from 37 families (32 fish families, five cephalopod families) were identified in the stomach contents. Teleosts made up the most important prey group in numbers and weight constituting 84 percent and 67 percent, respectively, while cephalopods made up 15 percent of the number and 30 percent of the weight of the prey items. Multi Dimensional Scaling (MDS) indicated that there is no resource partitioning between males and females, but significant partitioning between juveniles and adults. Six prey species contributed more than 60 percent of the weight of all prey species in the diet. These species are the most important according to their calculated index of relative importance score and are, in order of importance: Sepia sp. (cuttlefish)., Pomadasys olivaceus (piggy), Trachurus delagoa (maasbanker), Scomber japonicus (mackeral), Loligo sp. (squid). and Pagellus bellottii natalensis (pandora or red tjor-tjor). When compared to historic data, no changes in the main prey species has occurred, but the piggy has decreased in importance (1976-1986 percent IRI=45; 2000-2010 percent IRI=22), while the maasbanker has increased (1975-1986, percent RI=4; 2000-2010 percent RI=20). Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis performed on tissue from the teeth of T. aduncus caught in the shark nets between 1970 and 2010 showed that there has been no significant shift in trophic level (δ15N) or in primary prey source (δ13C) over this time. The isotopic signatures of different tissues from an individual were used to create a base line and describe the differences in tissue signatures. Blubber was found to be significantly different from skin and muscle, which were found to be isotopically similar. Skin from remote biopsies can therefore probably be used in place of muscle for isotopic studies of bottlenose dolphins, while caution should be taken when using blubber. Given that T. aduncus is still listed as “data deficient” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the potential for climate change and expanding fisheries to alter the distribution and abundance of their prey species, long term dietary studies such as this are important in order for their effective conservation and management.

In an attempt to correlate genetic data with possible species delineation, this study investigates the presence of chromosomal variants between the North Atlantic bottle nose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, and the North Pacific bottle nose dolphin, T. gilli. Blood samples were obtained from oceanaria in the United States. Location of capture was correlated with karyotype to compare chromosome morphology with geographic range.

The Eastern Scottish population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) is the northernmost population of this species. The resident core of this population consists of 120 to 150 different individuals. This small size and its geographical isolation from other populations raises questions about its viability and whether the population has behavioural patterns that differ from those common to other populations of the same species. Microsatellite genetic diversity was low and mitochondrial DNA genetic diversity values were lowest in East Scotland compared to other populations worldwide and to neighbouring populations around UK waters. It has been well documented, from four different field sites worldwide, that male bottlenose dolphins form alliances with preferred male associates. These alliances can last for several years and the males involved show association coefficients similar to those of mothers and calves (0.8-1.0). These alliances appear to be of great importance in obtaining matings for the males. In the Eastern Scottish population males do not form alliances. No evidence of strong associations between individuals of either sex was found and there was no correlation between association and relatedness patterns. I suggest that the isolation and small size of the population together with reduced genetic diversity affects the pressure of kin selection for altruistic behaviours. There is no gain in competing or associating with close relatives for access to mates and it might be more important to avoid inbreeding by dispersing. Although evidence of gene flow between East Scotland and its neighbouring populations was not confirmed with Bayesian clustering analysis, a small set of individuals from Wales were found to be closely related to individuals from the East Coast of Scotland. In general the dynamics found in UK water populations resemble those of the Western North Atlantic with sympatric populations of coastal as well as pelagic individuals.