Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T07:17:55.157Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Site fidelity and behaviour of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in Moon Reef, Fiji Islands: implications for conservation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2012

Nardi Cribb ,
Cara Miller  and
Laurent Seuront
Nardi Cribb*
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Box 2100, Adelaide, 2001, SA, Australia
Cara Miller
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Box 2100, Adelaide, 2001, SA, Australia Faculty of Science, Technology and the Environment, University of the South Pacific, Laucala campus, Fiji Islands The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society International, Chippenham, UK
Laurent Seuront
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Box 2100, Adelaide, 2001, SA, Australia South Australian Research and Development Institute, Aquatic Science, West Beach SA 5022, Australia Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, UMR LOG 8187, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Station Marine, 62930 Wimereux, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: N. Cribb, School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Box 2100, Adelaide, 2001, SA, Australia email: nardi.cribb@flinders.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) were observed to frequent a tropical reef complex off the coast of Fiji on a regular basis. Boats from surrounding tourist destinations visit this reef on a nearly daily basis to observe the dolphins and partake in various tourist activities, such as snorkelling. The aim of the study was to determine whether this reef is a resting habitat for this population. Specifically, we objectively and quantitatively investigated whether spinner dolphins were primarily resting whilst present within the reef and also assessed whether the same individuals revisited the reef over time. Photo-identification techniques and boat based observations were conducted over two study periods (September 2009 and May 2010). Fifty-six recognizable individuals were identified during this period, with 70% resighted on 2 or more occasions. Resting was identified as the most consistent behaviour dolphins engaged in whilst present inside the reef. These preliminary results provide vital information which can be used as a tool in the development and implementation of conservation initiatives as well as providing a basis for future studies investigating the habitat characteristics of this reef.

Keywords

spinner dolphinFiji Islandssite fidelitybehaviourconservationtourism
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 8: Marine Mammals , December 2012 , pp. 1793 - 1798
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

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 in a deep-water dolphin: rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Marine Mammal Science 24, 535–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bedjer, L., Samuels, A., Whitehead, H., Gales, N., Mann, J., Connor, R., Heithaus, M., Watson-Capps, J., Flaherty, C. and Krützen, M. (2006) Decline in relative abundance of bottlenose dolphins exposed to long-term disturbance. Conservation Biology 20, 1791–1798.Google Scholar
Benoit-Bird, K.J. (2004) Prey caloric value and predator energy needs: foraging predictions for wild spinner dolphins. Marine Biology 145, 435–444.Google Scholar
Constantine, R., Brunton, D.H. and Dennis, T. (2004) Dolphin-watching tour boats change bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) behaviour. Biological Conservation 117, 299–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Convention on Migratory Species (2011) New marine protected area declared for spinner dolphins in Moon Reef, Fiji. Progress report of the Pacific Cetaceans MoU. Available from: www.pacificcetaceans.org/features_all.php (accessed 21 December 2011).Google Scholar
Courbis, S. (2004) Behavior of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in response to vessels/swimmers. MSc thesis. San Francisco State Univeristy, CA, 188 pp.Google Scholar
Courbis, S. (2007) Effect of spinner dolphin presence on level of swimmer and vessel activity in Hawai'ian Bays. Tourism in Marine Environments 4, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Courbis, S. and Timmel, G. (2009) Effects of vessel and swimmers on behaviour of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in Kealake'akua, Honaunau, and Kauhako bays, Hawai'i. Marine Mammal Science 25, 430–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Gennaro, L., Ferrara, M., Urbani, L. and Bertini, M. (2000) Oculomoter impairment after 1 night of total sleep deprivation: a dissociation between measure of speed and accuracy. Clinical Neurophysiology 111, 1771–1778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Danil, K., Maldini, D. and Marten, K. (2005) Patterns of use of Maku'a Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i, by spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) and potential effects of swimmers on the behaviour. Aquatic Mammals 31, 403–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delfour, F. (2007) Hawaiian spinner dolphins and the growing dolphin watching activity in Oahu. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87, 109–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gannier, A. and Petiau, E. (2006) Environmental variables affecting the residence of spinner dolphins in a bay of Tahiti (French Polynesia). Aquatic Mammals 32, 202–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Global Vision International (2008) Spinner dolphin conservation project in Fiji. Available from: http://www.gviusa.com/projects/australasia/fiji/volunteer-fiji-dolphinconservation/home (accessed 21 December 2011).Google Scholar
Karczmarski, L., Würsig, B., Gailey, G., Larson, K.W. and Vanderlip, C. (2005) Spinner dolphins in a remote Hawaiian atoll: social grouping and population structure. Behavioural Ecology 16, 675–685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kyngdom, D.J., Minot, E.O. and Stafford, K.J. (2003) Behavioural responses of captive common Delphinus delphis to a ‘Swim-with-Dolphin’ programme. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81, 163–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lammers, M.O. (2004) Occurrence and behaviour of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) along Oahu's leeward and south shores. Aquatic Mammals 30, 237–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lusseau, D. (2003) Effects of tour boats on the behaviour of bottlenose dolphins: using Markov chains to model anthropogenic impacts. Conservation Biology 17, 1785–1793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marten, K. and Psarakos, S. (1999) Long-term site fidelity and possible long-term associations of wild spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) seen off Oahu, Hawaii. Marine Mammal Science 15, 1329–1336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martens Silva-Jr, J., Silva, F.J.L. and Sazima, I. (2005) Rest, nurture, sex, release, and play: diurnal underwater behaviour of the spinner dolphin at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, SW Atlantic. Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 9, 161–176.Google Scholar
Norris, K.S. and Dohl, T.P. (1980) Behavior of the Hawaiian spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris. Fishery Bulletin 77, 821–849.Google Scholar
Norris, K.S., Würsig, B., Wells, R.S. and Würsig, M. (1994) The Hawaiian spinner dolphin. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Notobartolo-di-Sciara, G., Hanafy, H., Fouda, M.M., Afifi, A. and Costa, M. (2009) Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) resting habitat in Samadai Reef (Egypt, Red Sea) protected through tourism management. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89, 211–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samuels, A., Bejder, L., Constantine, R. and Heinrich, S. (2003) A review of swimming with wild cetaceans with a specific focus on the southern hemisphere. In Gales, N., Hindell, M. and Kirkwood, R. (eds) Marine mammals: fisheries, tourism and management issues. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing, pp. 277–303.Google Scholar
Seuront, L. and Cribb, N. (2011) Fractal analysis reveals pernicious stress levels related to boat presence and type in the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops aduncus. Physica A 390, 2333–2339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shawky, A.M. and Afifi, A. (2008) Behaviour of spinner dolphin at Sha'ab Samadai, Marsa Alam, Red Sea, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Biology 10, 36–41.Google Scholar
Silva, F.J.L. and da Silva, J. Jr (2009) Circadian and seasonal rhythms in the behaviour of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris). Marine Mammal Science 25, 176–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sini, M.I., Canning, S.J., Stockin, K.A. and Pierce, G.J. (2005) Bottlenose dolphins around Aberdeen harbour, north-east Scotland: a short study of habitat utilization and the potential effects of boat traffic. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 85, 1547–1554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, C.T., Conway, J.M. and Rose, G.M. (1998) Brief paradoxical sleep deprivation impairs reference, but not working, memory in the radial arm maze test. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 69, 211–217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanton, M.A., Gibson, Q.A. and Mann, J. (2011) When mum's away: a study of mother and calf ego networks during separations in wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.). Animal Behaviour 82, 405–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternemann, U., Schneider, U., Leweke, F., Bevilacqua, C., Dietrich, D. and Emrich, H. (1997) Propsychotic change in binocular depth inversion through sleep deprivation. Nervenarzt 68, 593–596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
US Department of Commerce (2005) Protecting spinner dolphins in the main Hawaiian Islands from human activities that cause ‘Take’, as defined in the Marine Mammal Protection Act and its implementing regulations, or to otherwise adversely affect the dolphins. Federal Register 70. Available from: http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/Library/PRD/Spinner%20Dolphin/ANPR.pdf (accessed 21 December 2011)Google Scholar
Würsig, B. and Würsig, M. (1977) The photographic determination of group size, composition, and stability of coastal porpoises (Tursiops truncatus). Science 198, 755–756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Würsig, B. and Jefferson, T.A. (1990) Methods of photo-identification for small cetaceans. In Hammond, P.S., Mizroch, S.A. and 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, pp. 43–52.Google Scholar
Zar, J.H. (2010) Biostatistical analysis. 5th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar