Social structure of Lahille’s bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus gephyreus (Cetacea: Delphinidae) off the uruguayan marine coast
Information about the social relations among individuals is essential to de ne and developmanagement plans for a socially structured population. Association data for 25 adult Lahille’s bottlenosedolphins were obtained from 189 photo-identi cation surveys that took place between January 2007 and May2...
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| Other Authors: | , |
| Format: | article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12008/28454 |
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| Summary: | Information about the social relations among individuals is essential to de ne and developmanagement plans for a socially structured population. Association data for 25 adult Lahille’s bottlenosedolphins were obtained from 189 photo-identi cation surveys that took place between January 2007 and May2009 in La Coronilla-Cerro Verde and Cabo Polonio, Rocha, Uruguay. Group size averaged 5.22 individuals(SD= 3.77, n= 255). Coe cients of association were calculated using the Half-Weight Index. Most of theassociations were weak (79.7%) and variation of real association indices was greater than would be expected bychance. Thus, the null hypothesis that individuals associated randomly was rejected. Standardized LaggedAssociation Rate analysis also indicated that nonrandom associations between individuals persisted over thestudy period. The exponential decay model that ts best to the data suggested the existence of constantcompanions and casual acquaintances. This study is the rst report about the social structure of the populationof Lahille’s bottlenose dolphin inhabiting the Uruguayan marine coasts. Cerro Verde and Cabo Polonio werethe rst marine protected areas selected by the government of Uruguay. However, information about theecology and behavior of the species in these areas is still insu cient. It is recommended that the results of thisstudy be taken as baseline information to assess the conservation status of this population, as well as for thedevelopment of adequate conservation and management plans. |
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