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Fine-scale habitat selection by white-beaked and common dolphins in the Minch (Scotland, UK): evidence for interspecific competition or coexistence?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2009

Caroline R. Weir ,
Colin D. Macleod  and
Susannah V. Calderan
Caroline R. Weir*
Affiliation:
Ketos Ecology, 4 Compton Road, West Charleton, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2BP, UK School of Biological Sciences (Zoology), University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK
Colin D. Macleod
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences (Zoology), University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK
Susannah V. Calderan
Affiliation:
Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, 28 Main Street, Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Argyll, PA75 6NU, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C.R. Weir, Ketos Ecology, 4 Compton Road, West Charleton, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2BP, UK email: Caroline.Weir@ketosecology.co.uk
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Abstract

A decline in white-beaked dolphins Lagenorhynchus albirostris had been reported in the Minch (Scotland, UK) since the 1990s, coinciding with an increasing occurrence of short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis. This has led to suggestions that rising seawater temperatures are causing D. delphis to out-compete and exclude L. albirostris in this region. A total of 793 km (66.3 hours) of survey data were collected in the Minch during August 2007, to examine fine-scale habitat selection by L. albirostris and D. delphis and investigate whether their ecological overlap is sufficient to result in interspecific competition and/or habitat partitioning. Ten sightings of L. albirostris (70 animals) were recorded in a relatively small spatial area in the northern Minch. In contrast, the eleven sightings of D. delphis (1486 animals) were more widely distributed. The relative abundance per 1/4 ICES rectangle ranged from 0.41 to 0.53 animals/km for L. albirostris and 0.13 to 6.68 animals/km for D. delphis. The mean group size and group body mass were higher for D. delphis than for L. albirostris indicating D. delphis as the dominant delphinid in the Minch during August. Lagenorhynchus albirostris occurred in waters significantly deeper and further from shore than D. delphis, suggesting interspecific differences in preferred habitat. Most dolphin schools were recorded as foraging/feeding. Behaviour and seabird associations indicated that the two species differed in diet and/or foraging strategy, with L. albirostris foraging sub-surface and D. delphis exhibiting surface-feeding with associated gannets Morus bassanus. This is consistent with published information on the stomach contents of Scottish animals. The results suggest that there are subtle differences in habitat selection and diet between these two species, which may enable L. albirostris and D. delphis to coexist in the Minch. Whether these differences result from niche partitioning arising from previous/ongoing interspecific competition or are the result of genuine differences in the habitat preferences of each species, remains unclear.

Keywords

habitat selectiondietary divergencewhite-beaked dolphinLagenorhynchus albirostrisshort-beaked common dolphinDelphinus delphisScotland
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 89 , Special Issue 5: Cetaceans , August 2009 , pp. 951 - 960
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

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