TITLE:
New Evidence for Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops spp.) Population Connectivity between Kangaroo Island and South Australian Mainland Waters
AUTHORS:
Nardi Cribb, Phyll Bartram, Tony Bartram, Laurent Seuront
KEYWORDS:
Bottlenose Dolphin, Habitat, South Australia, Connectivity, Conservation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Marine Science,
Vol.8 No.1,
January
10,
2018
ABSTRACT: Limited information still exists on the movements of bottlenose dolphins in
South Australian coastal waters. There is, however, a need to overcome this
paucity of information for an effective development and implementation of
conservation and management initiatives in these waters that are increasingly
threatened by anthropogenic activities. This study infers potential movements
of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) between Kangaroo Island that separate
and shelter South Australian coastal waters from the Southern Ocean swell,
and the South Australian mainland (The Fleurieu Peninsula and The Adelaide
Dolphin Sanctuary). Bottlenose dolphins were identified from three separate
photo-identification catalogues collated from around the South Australian
coastline. Of the 3518, 654 and 181 dolphins sighted in Kangaroo Island,
Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, 233, 74 and 40 individuals
were recognizable, respectively. Resighting rates were similar in Kangaroo
Island (70.4%) and Fleurieu Peninsula (75.7%), but much lower in the
Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (35%). Ten individuals were resighted between
Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula, whilst no matches were made
between these two locations and the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary catalogue.
This suggests a longitudinal connectivity between Kangaroo Island and South
Australian mainland waters, but a lack of latitudinal connectivity that may
result from the physical stratification processes that separate northern and
southern South Australian waters. Our results also demonstrate the highly
mobile nature of this species within South Australian waters as well as establish photo-identification as an effective non-invasive tool in which to monitor
long-term movement patterns).