New Evidence for Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops spp.) Population Connectivity between Kangaroo Island and South Australian Mainland Waters — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
New Evidence for Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops spp.) Population Connectivity between Kangaroo Island and South Australian Mainland Waters
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
,
Kangaroo Island/Victor Harbor Dolphin Watch, Kangaroo Island, Australia
,
Kangaroo Island/Victor Harbor Dolphin Watch, Kangaroo Island, Australia
,
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
1 School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
2 Kangaroo Island/Victor Harbor Dolphin Watch, Kangaroo Island, Australia
3 Kangaroo Island/Victor Harbor Dolphin Watch, Kangaroo Island, Australia
4 School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
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).
Leatherwood, S. and Reeves, R.R. (1983) The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco.
Kemper, C.M. and Ling, J.K. (1991) Whale Strandings in South Australia (1881-1989). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 115, 37-52.
Kemper, C.M. (2004) Osteological Variation and Taxonomic Affinities of Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops spp., from South Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 52, 29-48. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO03026
Cribb, N., Miller, C. and Seuront, L. (2012) Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) Habitat Preference in a Heterogeneous, Urban, Coastal Environment. Aquatic Biosystems, 9, 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-9063-9-3
Kemper, C.M., Harcourt, R., Gibbs, S., Miller, C. and Wright, A. (2006) Estimating Population Size of “at Risk” Bottlenose and Common Dolphins in Spencer Gulf and Gulf St. Vincent. South Australia. Consultancy report to Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.
Kemper, C.M., Bossley, M. and Shaughnessy, P. (2008) Marine Mammals of Gulf St Vincent and Investigator Straigh and Backstairs Passage. In: Shepherd, S., Bryars, S., Kirkegaard, I. and Harbison, P., Eds., Natural History of Gulf St. Vincent, Royal Society of South Australia, Adelaide, 339-352.
Bilgmann, K., Moller, L.M., Harcourt, R.G., Gibbs, S.E. and Beheregaray, L.B. (2007) Genetic Differentiation in Bottlenose Dolphins from South Australia: Association with Local Oceanography and Coastal Geography. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 341, 265-276. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps341265
Robinson, K.P., O’Brien, J.M., Berrow, S.D., Cheney, B., Costa, M., Eisfeld, S.M., Haberlin, M.L., O’Donovan, M., Oudejans, M.G., Ryan, C., Stevick, P.T., Thompson, P.M. and Whooley, P. (2012) Discrete or Not So Discrete: Long Distance Movements by Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins in UK and Irish Waters. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 12, 365-371.
Kemper, C.M. and Gibbs, S.E. (2001) Dolphin Interactions with Tuna Feedlots at Port Lincoln, South Australia and Recommendations for Minimising Entanglements. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 3, 283-292.
Stevick, P.T., Palsboll, P.J., Smith, T.D., Bravington, M.V. and Hammond, P.S. (2001) Errors in Identification Using Natural Markings: Rates, Sources, and Effects on Capture-Recapture Estimates of Abundance. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 58, 1861-1870.
Katona, S.K. and Whitehead, H.P. (1981) Identifying Humpback Whales using Their Natural Markings. Polar Record, 20, 439-444. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003224740000365X
Neumann, D.R., Leitenberger, A. and Orams, M.B. (2002) Photo-Identification of Short-Beaked Common Dolphins (Delphinusdelphis) in North-East New Zealand: A Photo-Catalogue of Recognisable Individuals. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 36, 593-604. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2002.9517115
O’Brien, J.M., Berrow, S.D., Ryan, C., McGrath, D., O’Connor, I., Pesante, G., Burrows, G., Massett, N. and Klotzer, W.P. (2010) A Note on Long-Distance Matches of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncates) around the Irish Coast using Photo-Identification. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 11, 69-74.
Laska, D., Speakman, T. and Fair, P.A. (2011) Community Overlap of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiopstruncatus) Found in Coastal Waters near Charleston, South Carolina. Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology, 4, 10-18.
Tobena, M., Escánez, A., Rodríguez, Y., Lopez, C., Ritter, F. and Aguilar, N. (2004) Inter-Island Movements of Common Bottlenose Dolphins Tursiopstruncatus among the Canary Islands: Online Catalogues and Implications for Conservation and Management. African Journal of Marine Science, 36, 137-141. https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2013.873738
Wursig, B. and Wursig, M. (1977) The Photographic Determination of Group Size, Composition and Stability of Coastal Porpoises (Tursiops truncatus). Science, 198, 755-756. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.198.4318.755
Wursig, B. and Jefferson, T.A. (1990) Methods of Photo-Identification for Small Cetaceans. In: Hammond, P.S., Mizroch, S.A., Donovan, G.P., Eds., Individual Recognition of Cetaceans: Use of Photo-Identification and Other Techniques to Estimate Population Parameters, Reports of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue 12, Cambridge, 43-52.
Perrin, W.F., Wursig, B. and Thewissen, J.G.M. (2002) Marine Mammal Encyclopaedia. 2nd Edition, Academic Press.
Kiszka, J., Simon-Bouhet, B., Charlier, F., Pusineri, C. and Ridoux, V. (2010) Individual and Group Behavioural Reactions of Small Delphinids to Remote Biopsy Sampling. Animal Welfare, 411-417.
Noren, D.P. and Mocklin, J.A. (2012) Review of Cetacean Biopsy Techniques: Factors Contributing to Successful Sample Collection and Physiological and Behavioral Impacts. Marine Mammal Science, 28, 154-199. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00469.x
Kaempf, J. (2014) South Australia’s Large Inverse Estuaries: On the Road to Ruin, Estuaries of Australia in 2050 and beyond. Springer Netherlands, 153-166. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7019-5_9
Fuller, M.K., Bone, Y., Gostin, V.A. and Von Der Borch, C.C. (1994) Holocene Cool-Water Carbonate and Terrigenous Sediments from Southern Spencer Gulf, South Australia. Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, 41, 353-363.
Harris, P.T. (1994) Comparison of Tropical, Carbonate and Temperate, Siliciclastic Tidally Dominated Sedimentary Deposits: Examples from the Australian Continental Shelf. Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, 41, 241-254.
Porter-Smith, R., Harris, P.T., Andersen, O.B., Coleman, R., Greeslade, D. and Jenkins, C.J. (2004) Classification of the Australian Continental Shelf Based on Predicted Sediment Threshold Exceedance from Tidal Currents and Swell Waves. Marine Geology, 211, 1-20.
Steiner, A. and Bossley, M. (2008) Some Reproductive Parameters of an Estuarine Population of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). Marine Mammal Science, 2, 34-63.
Cribb, N., Miller, C. and Seuront, L. (2008) Assessment of Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) Habitat Characteristics in the Estuarine Waters of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, South Australia. The Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology, 1, 1-3.
Jones, G.K., Baker, J.L., Edyvane, K. and Wright, G.J. (1996) Nearshore Fish Community of the Port River-Barker Inlet Estuary, South Australia. I. Effect of Thermal Effluent on Fish Community Structure, and Distribution and Growth of Economically Important Fish Species. Marine and Freshwater Research, 47, 785-799. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9960785
Connolly, R.M. (1994) A Comparison of Fish Assemblages from Seagrass and Unvegetated Areas of a Southern Australian Estuary. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 45, 1033-1044. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9941033
Bloomfield, A.L. and Gillanders, B.M. (2005) Fish and Invertebrate Assemblages in Seagrass, Mangrove, Saltmarsh and Non-Vegetated Habitats. Estuaries, 28, 63-77. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02732754
Burnell, S.R. and Bryden, M.M. (1997) Coastal Residence Periods and Reproductive Timing in Southern Right Whales, Eubalaena australis. Journal of Zoology, London, 241, 613-621. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb05736.x
Carroll, E.L., Rayment, W.J., Alexander, A.M., Baker, C.S., Patenaude, N.J., Steel, D., Constatine, R., Cole, R., Boren, L.J. and Childerhouse, S. (2014) Reestablishment of Former Wintering Grounds by New Zealand Southern Right Whales. Marine Mammal Science, 30, 206-220. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12031
Mazzoil, M., McCulloch, S.D., Defran, R.H. and Murdoch, M.E. (2004) Use of Digital Photography and Analysis of Dorsal Fins for Photo-Identification of Bottlenose Dolphins. Aquatic Mammals, 30, 209-219. https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.30.2.2004.209
Baird, R.W., Webster, D.L., Mahaffy, S.D., McSweeney, D.J., Schorr, G.S. and Ligon, A.D. (2008) Site Fidelity and Association Patterns of in a Deep-Water Dolphin: Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanensis) in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Marine Mammal Science, 24, 535-553. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00201.x
Baird, R.W., Gorgone, A.M., McSweeney, D.J., Ligon, A.D., Deakos, M.H., Webster, D.L., Schorr, G.S., Martien, K.K., Salden, D.R. and Mahaffy, S.D. (2009) Population Structure of Island-Associated Dolphins: Evidence from Photo-Identification of Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Marine Mammal Science, 25, 251-274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00257.x
Defran, R.H. and Weller, D.W. (1999) Occurrence, Distribution, Site Fidelity and School Size of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) off San Diego, California. Marine Mammal Science, 15, 366-380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00807.x
Gubbins, C. (2002) Use of Home Ranges by Resident Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in a South Carolina Estuary. Journal of Mammalogy, 83, 178-187. https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083 2.0.CO;2
Scott, G.P., Burn, D.M. and Hansen, L.J. (1988) The Dolphin Die Off: Long-Term Effects and Recovery of the Population. Proceedings of the Oceans ‘88 Conference, IEEE Cat. No. 88-CH2585-8, Vol. 3, 819-823.
Defran, R.H., Caldwell, M., Morteo, E., Long, A.R., Rice, M.G. and Weller, D.W. (2015) Possible Stock Structure of Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins of Baja California and California Revealed by Photo-Identification Research. Bulletin, Southern California Academy of Sciences, 114, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3160/0038-3872-114.1.1
Bilgmann, K., Parra, G.J., Zanardo, N., Beheregaray, L.B. and Moller, L.M. (2014) Multiple Management Units of Short-Beaked Common Dolphins Subject to Fisheries Bycatch off Southern and Southern Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 500, 265-279. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10649
Lennon, G.W., Bowers, D.G., Nunes, R.A., Scott, B.D., Ali, A., Boyle, J., Wenju, C., Herzfeld, M., Johansson, G., Nield, S., Petrusevics, P., Stephenson, P., Suskin, A.A. and Wijffels, S.E.A. (1987) Gravity Currents and the Release of Salt from an Inverse Estuary. Nature, 327, 695-697. https://doi.org/10.1038/327695a0
Petrusevics, P.M. (1993) SST Fronts in Inverse Estuaries, South Australia—Indicators of Reduced Gulf-Shelf Exchange. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 44, 305-323. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9930305
Bye JAT (1976) Physical Oceanography of Gulf St. Vincent and Investigator Strait. In: Twidale, C.R., Ed., Natural History of the Adelaide Region, Royal Society of South Australia, 143.
De Silva Samarasinghe, J.R. and Lennon, G.W. (1987) Hypersalinity, Flushing and Transientsalt-Wedges in a Tidal Gulf—An Inverse Estuary. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science, 24, 483-498.
Noye, B.J. and Grzechnik, M. (1995) Tides and Currents of Gulf St. Vincent, South Australia. Proceedings of the Ocean and Atmosphere Pacific International Conference, Adelaide, 23-27 October 1995, 253-258.
Kaempf, J. (2006) In Situ Field Measurements for Adelaide Coastal Waters Study-Final Technical Report. ACWS Technical Report No. 7 Prepared for the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study Steering Committee. School of Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences, Flinders University of SA, Adelaide.
Natoli, A., Birkun, A., Aguilar, A., Lopez, A. and Hoelzel, A.R. (2005) Habitat Structure and the Dispersal of Male and Female Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 272, 1217-1226. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2005.3076
Dowling, T.E. and Brown, W.M. (1993) Population Structure of the Bottlenose Dolphin) as Determined by Restriction Endonuclease Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA. Marine Mammal Science, 9, 138-155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1993.tb00439.x
Sprogis, K.R., Raudion, H.C., Rankin, R., MacLeod, C.D. and Bejder, L. (2016) Home Range Size of Adult Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in a Coastal and Estuarine System Is Habitat and Sex-Specific. Marine Mammla Science, 32, 287-308. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12260
Zanardo, N., Parra, G. and Moller, L.M. (2016) Site Fidelity, Residency, and Abundance of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops sp.) in Adelaide’s Coastal Waters, South Australia. Marine Mammal Science, 32, 1381-1401. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12335
Charlton-Robb, K., Gershwin, L.A., Thompson, R., Austin, J., Owen, K. and McKenchie, S. (2011) A New Dolphin Species, the Burrunan Dolphin Tursiops australis sp. nov., Endemic to Southern Australian Costal Waters. PLoS ONE, 6, e24047. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024047
Kaempf, J. and Clarke, B. (2013) How Robust Is the Environmental Impact Assessment Process in South Australia? Behind the Scenes of the Adelaide Seawater Desalination Project. Marine Policy, 38, 500-506.