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Foraging Ecology and Maternal Transmission of Foraging Specializations of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: Bottlenose dolphins use a variety of foraging specializations to detect and pursue prey.\nLike other mammals, individual dolphins may use specialized foraging techniques that\nare shaped in response to habitat or particular prey resources. The long duration of the\nmother-calf bond presents an opportunity for mothers to transmit such specializations to\ntheir calves, and cases of observational learning by dolphins are well known from captive\ncolonies. This study explored how specializations may influence choices of habitat use\nand on how such specializations may spread within a community.\nA focal follow technique was used to document the foraging behavior of five resident\nfemales and their calves from June-August 2003 in Sarasota, FL. Females significantly\ndiffered in their selection of foraging habitats. Three of the five focal females used\nknown foraging specializations, kerplunking and barrier feeding, and exhibited a\npreference for only one type. Females also increased the use of foraging habitats\nassociated with their preferred foraging specializations. Limited observations, as well as\nanecdotal evidence from past studies, suggest that maternal transmission may play a role\nin the spread of kerplunking and barrier feeding within a community.\nFindings suggest that the use of foraging specializations is associated with foraging\nhabitat preferences in Sarasota Bay as well as support the importance of incorporating\nknowledge of social behavior into the management structure for bottlenose dolphins.\nMany questions still remain concerning the prey specificity, stability, and sex-specific\nnature of foraging specializations and future studies should concentrate on these areas of\nresearch.
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2170735856
FWCI:
Cites: 33
Cited by: 1
Related to: 10