Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T10:31:01.076Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Aggregations of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) in Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, south-eastern Brazil: distribution patterns and ecological characteristics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2009

Laura Aichinger Dias ,
Denize Herzing  and
Leonardo Flach
Laura Aichinger Dias*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
Denize Herzing
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA Research Director, The Wild Dolphin Project, PO Box 8436, Jupiter, FL 33468, USA
Leonardo Flach
Affiliation:
Projeto Boto-cinza, St Terezinha 531, Vila Muriqui, Mangaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, 23860-000, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.A. Dias, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Between August 2005 and July 2007, 376 Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) encounters were documented in Sepetiba Bay. For the purpose of this study all dolphin sightings were classified as groups or aggregations. Groups (N = 268, x = 20, range = 1–90) consisted of dolphins in apparent association usually engaged in the same behaviour and moving in the same direction. Aggregations (N = 108, x = 204, range = 100–450) consisted of temporal association of numerous groups gathered in an area, totalling several hundred individuals usually engaged in the same behaviour but not necessarily moving in the same direction. Guiana dolphin groups and aggregations differed significantly in behavioural activity, spatial and temporal distribution and age composition. Most aggregated dolphins were engaged in foraging/feeding activities and primarily located at the interior of the bay, and also, aggregations were more likely recorded during morning hours and had more neonates and calves present when compared to groups. The plotted GPS records of aggregations formed two distinct clusters of distribution within the bay, indicating potential areas where conservation strategies could be implemented.

Keywords

Sotalia guianensisguiana dolphinaggregationSepetiba Bay
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 89 , Special Issue 5: Cetaceans , August 2009 , pp. 967 - 973
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Araújo, F.G., Cruz-Filho, A.G., Azevedo, M.C.C. and Santos, A.C.A. (1998) Estrutura da comunidadde de peixes demersais da baía de Sepetiba, RJ. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 58, 417–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Azevedo, A.F., Viana, S.C., Oliveira, A.M. and Van Sluys, M. (2005) Group characteristics of marine tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in Guanabara Bay, south-eastern Brazil. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 85, 209–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Azevedo, A.F., Oliveira, A.M., Vianna, S.C. and Van Sluys, M. (2007) Habitat use by marine tucuxis (Sotalia guianensis) (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in Guanabara Bay, south-eastern Brazil. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87, 201–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bearzi, M. and Stanford, C.B. (2007) Dolphins and African apes: comparisons of sympatric socio-ecology. Contributions to Zoology 76, 235–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connor, R.C. (2000) Group living in whales and dolphins. In Mann, J., Connor, R.C., Tyack, P.L. and Whitehead, H. (eds) Cetacean societies: field studies of dolphins and whales. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 199–218.Google Scholar
Connor, R.C., Wells, R.S., Mann, J. and Read, A.J. (2000) The bottlenose dolphin: social relationships in a fission–fusion society. In Mann, J., Connor, R.C., Tyack, P.L. and Whitehead, H. (eds) Cetacean societies: field studies of dolphins and whales. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 91–126.Google Scholar
Copeland, G., Monteiro, T., Couch, S. and Borthwick, A. (2003) Water quality in Sepetiba Bay, Brazil. Marine Environmental Research 55, 385–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daura-Jorge, F.G., Wedekin, L.L., Piacentini, V.Q. and Simões-Lopes, P.C. (2005) Seasonal and daily patterns of group size, cohesion and activity of the estuarine dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (P.J. van Bénéden) (Cetacea, Delphinidae), in southern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 22, 1014–1021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Beneditto, A.P.M., Ramos, R.M.A. and Lima, N.R.W. (2001) Sightings of Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & D'Orbigny, 1844) and Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853) (Cetacea) in south-eastern Brazil. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology 44, 291–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, H.H. and Schnell, G.D. (2001) Status and ecology of Sotalia fluviatilis in the Cayos Miskito Reserve, Nicaragua. Marine Mammal Science 17, 445–472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flach, L., Flach, P.A. and Chiarello, A.G. (2008) Aspects of behavioral ecology of Sotalia guianensis in Sepetiba Bay, southeast Brazil. Marine Mammal Science 24, 503–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flores, P.A.C. and Bazzalo, M. (2004) Home ranges and movement patterns of the marine tucuxi dolphin, Sotalia fluviatilis, in Baía Norte, southern Brazil. LAJAM 3, 37–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flores, P.A.C. and Fontoura, N.F. (2006) Ecology of marine tucuxi and bottlenose dolphins in Baía Norte, Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. LAJAM 5, 105–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geise, L., Gomes, N. and Cerqueira, R. (1999) Behavior, habitat use and population size of Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853) (Cetacea, Delphinidae) in the Cananéia estuary region, São Paulo, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 59, 183–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karczmarski, L. (1999) Group dynamics of humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Algoa Bay region, South Africa. Journal of Zoology 49, 283–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karczmarski, L., Würsig, B., Gailey, G., Larson, K.W. and Vanderlip, C. (2005) Spinner dolphins in a remote Hawaiian atoll: social grouping and population structure. Behavioral Ecology 16, 675–685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lodi, L. (2003) Tamanho e composição de grupo dos botos-cinza, Sotalia guianensis (van Bénéden, 1864) (Cetacea, Delphinidae), na baía de Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Atlântica 25, 135–146.Google Scholar
Lodi, L. and Hetzel, B. (1998) Grandes agregações do boto-cinza (Sotalia fluviatilis) na baía da Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro. Bioikos 12, 26–30.Google Scholar
Mann, J. (2000) Unraveling the dynamics of social life: long-term studies and observational methods. In Mann, J., Connor, R.C., Tyack, P.L. and Whitehead, H. (eds) Cetacean societies: field studies of dolphins and whales. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 45–64.Google Scholar
Molisani, M.M., Marins, R.V., Machado, W., Paraquetti, H.H.M., Bidone, E.D. and Lacerda, L.D. (2004) Environmental changes in Sepetiba Bay, SE Brazil. Regional Environmental Change 4, 17–27.Google Scholar
Norris, K.S. and Dohl, T.P. (1980) The structure and functions of cetacean schools. In Herman, L.M. (ed.) Cetacean behavior: mechanisms and processes. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 211–254.Google Scholar
Norris, K.S. and Schilt, C.R. (1988) Cooperative societies in three-dimensional space: on the origins of aggregations, flocks, and schools, with special reference to dolphins and fish. Ethology and Sociobiology 9, 149–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pessanha, A.L.M. and Araújo, F.G. (2003) Spatial, temporal and diel variations of fish assemblages at two sandy beaches in the Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57, 817–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pessanha, A.L.M., Araújo, F.G., Azevedo, M.C.C. and Gomes, I.D. (2003) Diel and seasonal changes in the distribution of fish on a southeast Brazil sandy beach. Marine Biology 143, 1047–1055.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, M.C.O. and Rosso, S. (2008a) Social organization of marine tucuxi dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) in Cananéia estuary. Journal of Mammalogy 89, 347–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, M.C.O. and Rosso, S. (2008b) Ecological aspects of marine tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) based on group size and composition in the Cananéia estuary, southeastern Brazil. LAJAM 5, 71–82.Google Scholar
Shane, S. (1990) Behavior and ecology of the bottlenose dolphin at Sanibel Island, Florida. In Leatherwood, S. and Reeves, R.R. (eds) The bottlenose dolphin. San Diego, CA: Academic Press Inc., pp. 245–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silva, M.A. and Araújo, F.G. (2003) Influência das variáveis ambientais na fauna acompanhante na pesca da manjuba Anchoa tricolor (Agassiz) (Actinopterygii, Engraulidae) na Baía de Sepetiba, Rio de Janeiro. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 20, 367–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silva, M.A., Araújo, F.G., Azevedo, M.C.C. and Mendonça, P. (2003) Distribuição espacial e temporal de Cetengraulis edentulus (Cuvier) (Actinopterygii, Engraulidae) na baía de Sepetiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 20, 577–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terborgh, J. and Janson, C.H. (1986) The socioecology of primate groups. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 17, 111–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, B., Thompson, P.M. and Hammond, P.S. (1997) Habitat use by bottlenose dolphins: seasonal distribution and stratified movement patterns in Moray Firth, Scotland. Journal of Applied Ecology 34, 1365–1374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Würsig, B. (1986) Delphinids foraging strategies. In Schusterman, R.J., Thomas, J.A. and Wood, F.G. (eds) Dolphin cognition and behavior: a comparative approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 347–359.Google Scholar
Würsig, B. and Würsig, M. (1980) Behavior and ecology of the dusky dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obscurus, in the south Atlantic. Fishery Bulletin 77, 871–890.Google Scholar