Abstract
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) around Mikura Island are important both commercially (swim-with-dolphin programs) and scientifically (long-term underwater behavioral studies). However, this population experienced a substantial population decline (31% of identified dolphins) between 2008 and 2011, which prompted us to monitor population health using body length. A decrease in the growth rate of neonates and calves is a warning sign of unhealthy conditions in the population. This study examined the total length of free-ranging Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins off Mikura Island, using a low-cost commercially available 3D underwater camera system. Length-at-age data from 129 measurements of 108 identified dolphins were successfully obtained and were best described by the Richards growth model compared to the Gompertz and von Bertalanffy models. Body length did not differ significantly between females and males, with an estimated population asymptotic length of 246.9 cm (95% confidence interval: 241.7–252.7 cm). Calves were approximately 100 cm in length at birth and reached 178.2 cm at 1 year of age and 208.6 cm at 3 years when many calves became independent from their mothers. Length-at-age estimates of the Mikura Island population are similar to and greater than those reported in southwestern Australia and Shark Bay, respectively. Our simple non-invasive underwater technique demonstrated to be effective in quantifying the growth pattern in a free-ranging dolphin population without using dead or stranded specimens, which provides essential information for monitoring of dolphin populations and sustainable swim-with-dolphin programs.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Change history
23 December 2022
Reference was updated.
Notes
Japan Oceanographic Data Center of Japan Coast Guard: https://www.jodc.go.jp/jodcweb/index.html.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the dolphin-watching tour captains and guides, members of the identification research team (MIDO), and local villagers for supporting our study. M. Tanaka took some 3D photos of dolphins. Logistical support was provided by the Mikurashima Tourism Association. We greatly appreciate the effort of L. Karczmarski and S.C.Y. Chan and thank them for extensive revisions and numerous edits and immaculate editorial handling of this manuscript, and the reviewers including M. van Aswegen and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful and helpful comments.
Funding
Funding was provided by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 23310166, and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18K05782.
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TM conducted fieldwork and data analyses for the project, conceptualized the study, developed the study design, wrote the paper, and corresponded with the manuscript. MS conducted fieldwork, wrote the paper, edited the drafts, and helped prepare the manuscript. HH conceptualized the study, advised the lead researcher, edited the drafts, and helped prepare the manuscript. KK conducted fieldwork consulting, edited drafts, and helped prepare the manuscript.
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This study was conducted in accordance with “Agreement of the dolphin watching operation around Mikura Island” and was approved by Mikurashima village with the permission to enter the protected sea area around Mikura Island under “Agreement of the rational use of nature conservation promotion area at Mikura Island. Approval to use individual identification data for this study was granted by the Mikurashima Tourism Association (Approved number: No. 20140901). To minimize disturbance, we followed a non-invasive approach for observation in accordance the recommendations of the Guidelines to Study Wild Animals of the Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University. Dolphins did not show any unusual behavior during our observations. We did not use scuba tanks, we never attempted to touch the dolphins, and we never fed them.
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Handling editors: Leszek Karczmarski and Stephen C.Y. Chan.
This article is a contribution to the special issue on “Individual Identification and Photographic Techniques in Mammalian Ecological and Behavioural Research – Part 2: Field Studies and Applications” — Editors: Leszek Karczmarski, Stephen C.Y. Chan, Scott Y.S. Chui and Elissa Z. Cameron.
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See Fig. A1.
Mother and calf pair of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) off Mikura Island, Japan, on July 24, 2014. Upper: #455FA (Salonpas), 16-year-old female (251.0 cm); Lower: #634MJ (Musashi), 1-year-old male (200.4 cm)
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Morisaka, T., Sakai, M., Hama, H. et al. Body length and growth pattern of free-ranging Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins off Mikura Island estimated using an underwater 3D camera. Mamm Biol 102, 1513–1523 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-022-00304-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-022-00304-9