Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Prey selection by resident common bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 07 January 2010

Abstract

Prey selection was investigated in wild, resident common bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, during the summer months in Sarasota Bay, Florida, USA. Stomach content analyses of 15 dolphins with extensive sighting histories and well-documented distributions were used to determine prey use. Prey availability was assessed by purse seine surveys. We compared the relative abundances of prey available to estimates of prey use at closely matching spatial and temporal scales. G-tests determined that dolphins in this study significantly selected for prey at the species, family, and soniferous/non-soniferous prey levels (G adj  = 753.98–1,775.93, df = 1–21, p ≤ 0.01). While comprising only 6.3% of the total available prey, soniferous fishes accounted for 51.9% of the total prey consumed. Manly’s standardized forage ratios and 95% Bonferroni confidence intervals determined significant positive selection for soniferous prey and against non-soniferous prey (βS = 0.9461 vs. βNS = 0.0539). Dolphins selected against Gerridae, Clupeidae, and Sparidae (β ≤ 0.0014), as well as against all the species within those families (β ≤ 0.0190). It is likely that passive listening for soniferous prey provides an ecological or energetic advantage to cetaceans utilizing this specific foraging technique.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Au WWL (1993) The Sonar of Dolphins. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Barros NB (1993) Feeding ecology and foraging strategies of bottlenose dolphins on the central east coast of Florida. Ph.D. thesis, University of Miami

  • Barros NB, Odell DK (1990) Food habits of bottlenose dolphins in the southeastern United States. In: Leatherwood S, Reeves RR (eds) The bottlenose dolphin. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 309–328

    Google Scholar 

  • Barros NB, Wells RS (1998) Prey and feeding patterns of resident bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. J Mammal 79:1045–1059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bearhop S, Adams CE, Waldron S, Fuller RA, MacLeod H (2004) Determining trophic niche width: a novel approach using stable isotope analysis. J Animal Ecol 73(5):1007–1012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breder CM Jr (1968) Seasonal and diurnal occurrences of fish sounds in a small Florida bay. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist 138(6):325–378

    Google Scholar 

  • Chesson J (1978) Measuring preference in selective predation. Ecology 59:211–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen V, Pauly D (1992) ECOPATH II–a software for balancing steady-state ecosystem models and calculating network characteristics. Ecol Model 61:169–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desportes G, Mouritsen R (1993) Preliminary results on the diet of long-finned pilot whales off the Faroe Islands. Rep Int Whal Comm (special issue 14):304–324

  • Estes JA, Riedman ML, Staedler MM, Tinker MT, Lyon BE (2003) Individual variation in prey selection by sea otters: patterns, causes and implications. J Anim Ecol 72:144–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fish MP, Mowbray WH (1970) Sounds of Western North Atlantic fishes: a reference file of biological underwater sounds. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford JKB, Ellis GM (2006) Selective foraging by fish-eating killer whales Orcinus orca in British Columbia. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 316:185–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gannon DP, Waples DM (2004) Diets of coastal bottlenose dolphins from the US Mid-Atlantic coast differ by habitat. Mar Mamm Sci 20:527–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gannon DP, Read AJ, Craddock JE, Fristrup K, Nicolas J (1997) Feeding ecology of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) in the western North Atlantic. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 148:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gannon DP, Barros NB, Nowacek DP, Read AJ, Waples DM, Wells RS (2005) Prey detection by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): an experimental test of the passive listening hypothesis. Anim Behav 69:709–720. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.06.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gannon DP, Berens McCabe EJ, Camilleri SA, Gannon JG, Brueggen MK, Barleycorn AA, Palubok VI, Kirkpatrick GJ, Wells RS (2009) Effects of Karenia brevis harmful algal blooms on nearshore fish communities in southwest Florida. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 378:171–186. doi:10.3354/meps07853

  • Garshelis DL (2000) Delusions in habitat evaluation: measuring use, selection, and importance. In: Boitani L, Fuller TK (eds) Research techniques in animal ecology: controversies and consequences. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 111–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaskin DE (1982) Diet and feeding behavior in Cetacea. In: Gaskin DE (ed) The ecology of whales and dolphins. Heinemann, London, pp 30–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunter G (1942) Contributions to the natural history of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus (Montagu), on the Texas coast, with particular reference to food habits. J Mammal 23:267–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall SJ, Gurney WSC, Dobby H (1995) Inferring feeding patterns from stomach contents data. J Anim Ecol 64(1):39–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes DB, Ferreri CP, Taylor WW (1996) Active fish capture methods. In: Murphy BR, Willis DW (eds) Fisheries techniques, 2nd edn. American Fisheries Society Publication, Bethesda, pp 193–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Irvine AB, Scott MD, Wells RS, Kaufmann JH (1981) Movements and activities of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, near Sarasota, Florida. Fish Bull US 79:671–688

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivlev VS (1961) Experimental ecology of the feeding of fishes. Yale University Press, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs J (1974) Quantitative measurement of food selection. Oecologia (Berl) 14:413–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DH (1980) The comparison of usage and availability measurements for evaluating resource preference. Ecology 61(1):65–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leatherwood S (1975) Some observations of feeding behavior of bottlenosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the northern Gulf of Mexico and (Tursiops cf. T. gilli) off southern California, Baja California, and Nayarit, Mexico. Mar Fish Rev 37(9):10–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Leatherwood S, Deerman MW, Potter CW (1978) Food and reproductive status of nine Tursiops truncatus from the northeastern United States coast. Cetology 28:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Lechowicz MJ (1982) The sampling characteristics of electivity indices. Oecologia (Berl) 52:22–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindstrom U, Haug T (2001) Feeding strategy and prey selectivity in common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) foraging in the southern Barents Sea during early summer. J Cetacean Res Manage 3:239–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Llopiz JK, Cowen RK (2008) Precocious, selective and successful feeding of larval billfishes in the oceanic Straits of Florida. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 358:231–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacLeod CD, Santos MB, Lopez A, Pierce GJ (2006) Relative prey size consumption in toothed whales: implications for prey selection and level of specialization. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 326:295–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmoudi B (2005) The 2005 update of the stock assessment for striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, in Florida. Florida fish and wildlife research institute. Available via DIALOG. http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=26636. Accessed 8 Jun 2009

  • Manly BFJ, McDonald LL, Thomas DL, McDonald TL, Erickson WP (2002) Resource selection by animals: statistical design and analysis of field studies, 2nd edn. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • McFee WE, Hopkins-Murphy SR (2002) Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) strandings in South Carolina, 1992–1996. Fish Bull 100:258–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Mead JG, Potter CW (1990) Natural history of bottlenose dolphins along the central Atlantic coast of the United States. In: Leatherwood S, Reeves RR (eds) The bottlenose dolphin. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 165–195

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittelbach GG (2002) Fish foraging and habitat choice: a theoretical perspective. In: Hart PJB, Reynolds JD (eds) The handbook of fish biology and fisheries. Blackwell Science Ltd, Malden, p 252

    Google Scholar 

  • Murase H, Tamura T, Kiwada H, Fujise Y, Watanabe H, Ohizumi H, Yonezaki S, Okamura H, Kawahara S (2007) Prey selection of common minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and Bryde’s (Balaenoptera edeni) whales in the western North Pacific in 2000 and 2001. Fish Oceanogr. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2419.2006.00426.x

  • Murphy MD, Guenther CB, Mahmoudi B (2006) An assessment of the status of spotted seatrout in Florida waters through 2005 Cynoscion nebulosus. Florida fish and wildlife research institute. Available via DIALOG. http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=29883. Accessed 8 Jun 2009

  • Odell DK (1991) A review of the Southeastern United States marine mammal stranding network: 1978–1987. In: Reynolds JE III, Odell DK (eds) Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States, vol 98. NOAA Tech Rep, NMFS, pp 19–23

  • Reynolds JE III, Wells RS, Eide SD (2000) The bottlenose dolphin: biology and conservation. University Press of Florida, Gainesville

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott MD, Wells RS, Irvine AB (1990) A long-term study of bottlenose dolphins on the west coast of Florida. In: Leatherwood S, Reeves RR (eds) The bottlenose dolphin. Academic Press Inc, San Diego, pp 235–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane SH (1990) Behavior and ecology of the bottlenose dolphin at Sanibel Island, Florida. In: Leatherwood S, Reeves RR (eds) The bottlenose dolphin. Academic Press Inc, San Diego, pp 245–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane SH, Wells RS, Wursig B (1986) Ecology, behavior and social organization of the bottlenose dolphin: a review. Mar Mamm Sci 2(1):34–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stolen MK, Noke Durden N, Odell DK (2007) Historical synthesis of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) stranding data in the Indian River Lagoon system, Florida, from 1977–2005. Florida Sci 70(1):45–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas D, Taylor E (1990) Study designs and tests for comparing resource use and availability. J Wildl Manage 54:322–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanderploeg HA, Scavia D (1979) Calculation and use of selectivity coefficients of feeding: zooplankton grazing. Ecol Model 7:135–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells RS (1991) The role of long-term study in understanding the social structure of a bottlenose dolphin community. In: Pryor K, Norris KS (eds) Dolphin societies: discoveries and puzzles. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 198–225

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells RS (2003) Dolphin social complexity: Lessons from long-term study and life history. In: de Waal FBM, Tyack PL (eds) Animal social complexity: intelligence, culture, and individualized societies. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 32–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells RS, Scott MD (1999) Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821). In: Ridgway SH, Harrison R (eds) Handbook of marine mammals, the second book of dolphins and porpoises, vol 6. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 137–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells RS, Scott MD (2002) Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and T. aduncus). In: Perrin WF, Würsig B, Thewissen JGM (eds) Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 122–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells RS, Irvine AB, Scott MD (1980) Ecology of inshore odontocetes. In: Herman LM (ed) Cetacean behavior: mechanisms and functions. Wiley, New York, pp 263–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells RS, Scott MD, Irvine AB (1987) The social structure of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins. In: Genoways H (ed) Current mammalogy, vol 1. Plenum Press, New York, pp 247–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells RS, Tornero V, Borrell A, Aguilar A, Rowles TK, Rhinehart HL, Hofmann S, Jarman WM, Hohn AA, Sweeney JC (2005) Integrating potential life history and reproductive success data to examine potential relationships with organochlorine compounds for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Sci Total Environ. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.01.010

  • Wessel MR, Winner BL (2003) Using a modified purse seine to collect and monitor estuarine fishes. Gulf Caribb Res 15:61–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Witteveen BH, Foy RJ, Wynne KM, Tremblay Y (2008) Investigation of foraging habits and prey selection of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) using acoustic tags and concurrent fish surveys. Mar Mam Sci 24(3):516–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1998) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice-Hall Inc, Upper Saddle River, pp 200–205

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the many Mote Marine Laboratory and Chicago Zoological Society staff members, interns, and volunteers who made this work possible by providing logistical support and assistance in the field. Lewis Woods and Larry Fulford were instrumental in establishing our purse seining program. We especially thank Sandy Camilleri, Katie Brueggen, Aaron Barleycorn, and all members of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Stranding Investigations Program staff who provided much needed help in the field. Janet Gannon provided a custom GIS sampling program and prey sampling database. We would like to thank NOAA’s fisheries service (Grant Award Number NA16FL1355) for the primary funding for this project. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution’s Protect Wild Dolphins Program (grant numbers PWD 2004-18 and PWD 2005-09) and Florida’s State Wildlife Grants Program (SWG05_028) provided additional funding. This research was authorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Special Activity License numbers 03SR-809 and 04SR-809), NOAA Fisheries Service (STRANDING LOA), and Mote Marine Laboratory’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol numbers 06-10-DG1 and 07-10-DG1).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chicago Zoological Society, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL, 34236, USA

    Elizabeth J. Berens McCabe, Nélio B. Barros & Randall S. Wells

  2. Bowdoin Scientific Station, Bowdoin College, 6500 College Station, Brunswick, ME, 04011, USA

    Damon P. Gannon

  3. Department of Biology, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR, 97207, USA

    Nélio B. Barros

Authors
  1. Elizabeth J. Berens McCabe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Damon P. Gannon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nélio B. Barros
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Randall S. Wells
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth J. Berens McCabe.

Additional information

Communicated by S. Garthe.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1385-9

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Berens McCabe, E.J., Gannon, D.P., Barros, N.B. et al. Prey selection by resident common bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Mar Biol 157, 931–942 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1371-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1371-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation