Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Sex-specific differences in the seasonal habitat use of a coastal dolphin population

Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Understanding the factors that contribute to a population’s habitat use is important for conservation planners and managers to identify reasons behind a population’s distribution. Habitat use often differs between sexes, however few studies on sexually monomorphic species document this difference, resulting in misleading ecological interpretations and non-targeted management actions. The aim of this study was to test for sex-specific differences in the seasonal habitat use of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) off Bunbury, Australia. Systematic, boat-based, photographic identification dolphin surveys (n = 587) were conducted across seasons over 6 years during 2007–2013. Generalised additive models explored relationships between the presence-absence of dolphins and sex, water depth and benthic habitat type. Results highlighted that: (i) habitat use differed seasonally for males and females, (ii) depth had a strong influence on habitat use, which differed between sexes for summer, winter and spring, and (iii) there were no sex differences in habitat use in autumn, which coincides with the peak breeding season. In summer and autumn dolphins were concentrated in shallow, near-shore waters predominantly over reef and sand, and in winter and spring dolphins had a broader distribution over reef and mud/silt with the use of deeper, offshore waters. This pattern is consistent with the seasonally-dependent dolphin abundance that has been documented for this population. Identification of sex differences in habitat use provides management agencies with insights to implement informed actions for the conservation of this coastal dolphin population which is forecast to decline by 50% in the next two decades.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

References

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Dr T. Heege who selected and made image corrections to the satellite imagery. We thank our research assistants who assisted with fieldwork and data processing. Thank you to M. Cannon, D. Chabanne and K. Nicholson for coordinating previous field seasons, and to W. Wehkamp and B. Goguelat for assistance with data processing. Biopsy sampling for molecular analyses was carried out as a part of a broader study; thank you to S. Allen, D. McElligott, M. Krützen and A. Sellas for biopsy sampling and C. Daniel, A. Kopps and O. Manlik for genetic sexing results. We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly improved this manuscript. We are appreciative to the funding partners from the South West Marine Research Program (SWMRP); Bemax Cable Sands, BHP Billiton Worsley Alumina Ltd, the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre, Bunbury Port Authority, City of Bunbury, Cristal Global, the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife, Iluka, Millard Marine, Naturaliste Charters, Newmont Boddington Gold, South West Development Commission and WA Plantation Resources. KS was supported throughout her PhD on an Australian Postgraduate Award, Murdoch University Research Excellence Scholarship and a SWMRP Scholarship. This paper represents HIMB and SOEST contribution numbers 1732 and 10,411, respectively. KS and LB conceived the study. LB obtained funding for the SWMRP. KS and HR implemented the fieldwork, benthic habitat validation and data processing. KS and HK created the benthic habitat map. KS conceived and ran the habitat models with guidance from FC. KS wrote the paper, and all authors had input and critically reviewed the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kate R. Sprogis.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was carried out with approval from the Murdoch University Animal Ethics committee (W2009/06, W2342/10) and was licensed by the Department of Environment and Conservation (SF005811, SF008624).

Additional information

Communicated by Simon Ingram.

This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Coastal and marine biodiversity.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 1924 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sprogis, K.R., Christiansen, F., Raudino, H.C. et al. Sex-specific differences in the seasonal habitat use of a coastal dolphin population. Biodivers Conserv 27, 3637–3656 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1618-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1618-7

Keywords

Navigation