Bottlenose Dolphin Research Paper

NDO-PACIFIC BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops aduncus)

1. At least three key (or cool – or fascinating – or interesting) facts about the species.

*Bottlenose dolphin is the most common cetacean species found in captivity around the world. This global phenomenon takes its root in the famous TV show Flipper.

*Studies show that each dolphin has a special whistle pattern that is unique to him. It is the "first name" of the dolphin in its own language.

*There are evidence of self-awareness in the bottlenose dolphin: they can recognize themselves in a mirror!

2. Scientific name, taxonomic information, common name(s), and related species:

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) is one of the three species composing the genus Tursiops with the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the recently discovered (2011) Burrunan dolphin (Tursiops autralis). T. aduncus was recognized as a different species in 1998. Before that, it was thought to be only one bottlenose species (T. truncatus) with great variation in morphology and behaviour. Tursiops are well-known and famous members of the Delphinidae family. They inhabit warm and temperate waters. Tursiops aduncus is mostly found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. (See map here : http://maps.iucnredlist.org/map.html?id=41714)

3. Description of the species – including size, coloration, range, habitat, population size estimate:

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin is around 2.6m in length (but it may vary geographically) and weighs up to 230kg. It is smaller than T. Truncatus. The length at birth is between 0.84 and 1.5m. It is dark grey with a lighter ventral coloration. With age, some black or grey spots can appear on its belly. It had a short ro...

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...its). She collects long-term datas to further investigate abundance, population dynamics, social structure and habitat use of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Bunbury, South West Australia. Her aim is to increase our understanding of the dolphin distribution and habitat and hope her work will help future conservation and management efforts.

9. Three references to further readings.

*Marten, K. & Psarakos, S. (1995). "Evidence of self-awareness in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)".

*Tyne JA, Loneragan NR, Kopps AM, Allen, SJ, Krützen M, Bejder L. (2012) Ecological characteristics contribute to sponge distribution and tool use in bottlenose dolphins Tursiops sp.

*Bejder, L., A. Samuels, et al. (2006). "Decline in relative abundance of bottlenose dolphins exposed to long-term disturbance." Conservation Biology 20(6): 1791-1798.