Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T23:50:34.542Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Influence of artisanal fisheries on the behaviour and social structure of Tursiops truncatus in the South-western Gulf of Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2019

Nataly Morales-Rincon ,
Eduardo Morteo Open the ORCID record for Eduardo Morteo [Opens in a new window]  and
Christian Alejandro Delfín-Alfonso
Nataly Morales-Rincon
Affiliation:
Marine Mammal Laboratory (LabMMar, IIB-ICIMAP), Universidad Veracruzana. Calle Dr Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n, km 2.5 Carr. Xalapa-Veracruz, Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
Eduardo Morteo*
Affiliation:
Marine Mammal Laboratory (LabMMar, IIB-ICIMAP), Universidad Veracruzana. Calle Dr Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n, km 2.5 Carr. Xalapa-Veracruz, Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, México Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana. Calle Dr Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n, km 2.5 Carr. Xalapa-Veracruz, Col. Industrial Ánimas, CP 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, México Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Pesquerías, Universidad Veracruzana. Calle Hidalgo 617, Col. Río Jamapa, CP 94290, Boca del Río, Veracruz, México
Christian Alejandro Delfín-Alfonso
Affiliation:
Marine Mammal Laboratory (LabMMar, IIB-ICIMAP), Universidad Veracruzana. Calle Dr Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n, km 2.5 Carr. Xalapa-Veracruz, Col. Industrial Ánimas, C. P 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, México Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana. Calle Dr Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n, km 2.5 Carr. Xalapa-Veracruz, Col. Industrial Ánimas, CP 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
*
Author for correspondence: Eduardo Morteo, E-mail: eduardo.morteo@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Behavioural plasticity in animals is tested whenever competitive interactions for space and/or food resources occur between wildlife and human activities. This study uses the concepts of operational and non-operational interactions between bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and artisanal fisheries in Alvarado, to search for differences in behaviour, age structure and group size. We conducted 20 surveys between 2015 and 2016, and recorded 64 groups by means of scan sampling from either a research boat or a fixed vantage point. Average dolphin group size was small (${\bar{\rm x}}$ = 3.2, SD = 2.2 individuals) and fewer individuals were commonly present when interaction with fisheries occurred. Operational interactions were defined within the first 30 m and occurred mainly with lone individuals (54% recorded from the lighthouse and 82% during surveys); this benchmark also accounted for higher frequencies in locomotion and feeding (χ2 = 83.10; df = 7; P < 0.001). We found a higher rate of new behavioural events for dolphin groups furthest from human activities, as well as a decrease in behaviours that imply greater body exposure as dolphins approach the fishing spots. Age structure and dolphin group size were not different during and in the absence of interaction with fisheries, but most interactions involved male dolphins. Behavioural variations in the dolphins' repertoire are likely a strategy to reduce the risk of injuries or death when interacting with human activities; these dolphins seem to have habituated to or at least tolerate fishing activities within the study area, possibly constituting a sex-biased pressure.

Keywords

Agebehaviourgroup sizeinteraction and fishing net
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 8 , December 2019 , pp. 1841 - 1849
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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

Adimey, N, Hudak, C, Powell, J, Bassos-Hull, K, Foley, A, Farmer, N, White, L and Minch, K (2014) Fishery gear interactions from stranded bottlenose dolphins, Florida manatees and sea turtles in Florida, U.S.A. Marine Pollution Bulletin 81, 103–115.Google Scholar
Altmann, J (1974) Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour 49, 227–267.Google Scholar
Amador-Alcalá, S, Naranjo, E and Jiménez-Ferret, G (2013) Wildlife predation on livestock and poultry: implications for predator conservation in the rainforest of south-east Mexico. Oryx 47, 243–250.Google Scholar
Bearzi, G (2002) Interactions between cetaceans and fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea. In Di Sciara, N (ed.), Cetaceans of the Mediterranean and Black Seas: State of Knowledge and Conservation Strategies. Les Terrasses de Fontvieille, Monaco: ACCOBAMS, pp. 78–97.Google Scholar
Bjordal, A (2002) The use of technical measures in responsible fisheries: regulation of fishing gear. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 434. Rome: FAO, pp. 21–48.Google Scholar
Bouveroux, T and Mallefet, J (2010) Social structure of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Panama City, Florida. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 90, 1685–1692.Google Scholar
Brotons, J, Grau, A and Rendell, L (2008) Estimating the impact of interactions between bottlenose dolphins and artisanal fisheries around the Balearic Islands. Marine Mammal Science 24, 112–127.Google Scholar
Chávez-Martínez, K (2017) Interaction between the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the artisanal fishing of Alvarado, Veracruz depending on the capture, nutritional quality and isotopic composition of the fish community (Master's thesis). Scientific Research Center and Higher Education of Ensenada, Baja California, MX.Google Scholar
Chilvers, B and Corkeron, P (2001) Trawling and bottlenose dolphins’ social structure. Proceedings Biological Sciences/The Royal Society 268, 1901–1905.Google Scholar
Connor, R, Heithaus, M and Barre, L (2001) Complex social structure, alliance stability and mating access in a bottlenose dolphin ‘super-alliance’. Proceedings Biological Sciences/The Royal Society 268, 263–267.Google Scholar
Cox, T, Read, A, Swanner, D, Urian, K and Waples, D (2003) Behavioral responses of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, to gillnets and acoustic alarms. Biological Conservation 115, 203–212.Google Scholar
Del Castillo-Olvera, V (2010) Population ecology of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), on the coast of Alvarado, Veracruz, México (Bachelor's thesis). Autonomous University of Puebla, MX.Google Scholar
Dinis, A, Alves, F, Nicolau, C, Ribeiro, C, Kaufmann, M, Cañadas, A and Freitas, L (2018) Social structure of a population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the oceanic archipelago of Madeira, Portugal. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 98, 1141–1149.Google Scholar
Dudzinski, K (1998) Contact behavior and signal exchange in Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). Aquatic Mammals 24, 129–142.Google Scholar
Dudzinski, K, Gregg, J, Melillo-Sweeting, K, Seay, B, Levengood, A and Kuczaj, S (2012) Tactile contact exchanges between dolphins: self-rubbing vs inter-individual contact in three species from three geographies. International Journal of Comparative Psychology 25, 21–43.Google Scholar
Faeth, S, Warren, P, Shochat, E and Marussich, W (2005) Trophic dynamics in urban communities. BioScience 55, 399–407.Google Scholar
Fisher, R, Corbet, A and Williams, C (1943) The relation between the number of species and the number of individuals in a random sample of an animal population. Journal of Animal Ecology 12, 42–58.Google Scholar
García-Vital, M (2012) Relationship of association patterns and the activities of bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus in the coastal waters of Alvarado, Veracruz (Master's thesis). Veracruzana University, Veracruz, MX.Google Scholar
García-Vital, M, Morteo, E, Martínez-Serrano, I, Delgado-Estrella, A and Bazúa-Durán, C (2015) Inter-individual association levels correlate to behavioral diversity in coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Therya 6, 337–350.Google Scholar
Goldstein, I (2013) Technical Guidelines and Strategies for the Management of Conflicts due to Interference between Fauna and Agricultural Activities in the Countries of the Andes Community (CAN). Technical Report. Programa Regional de Biodiversidad en las Regiones Andino Amazonicas. Formin: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Finland. 30 pp.Google Scholar
Hill, S, Burrows, M and Hughes, R (2003) The efficiency of adaptive search tactics for different prey distribution patterns: a simulation model based on the behaviour of juvenile plaice. Journal of Fish Biology 63, 117–130.Google Scholar
Hurlbert, SH (1984) Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological field experiments. Ecological Monographs 54, 187–211.Google Scholar
Jaiteh, V, Allen, S, Meeuwig, J and Loneragan, N (2013) Subsurface behavior of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) interacting with fish trawl nets in northwestern Australia: implications for bycatch mitigation. Marine Mammal Science 29, 266–281.Google Scholar
Jiménez, M and Castro, L (2007) Artisanal fishing in the Veracruz Reef System National Park, México. In Granados, A, Arenas, L and Vargas, J (eds), Scientific Research in the Veracruz Reef System. Campeche: Autonomous University of Campeche, pp. 221–240.Google Scholar
Jiménez, N and Domínguez, C (2007) Presence and spatial location of cetaceans in the Tayrona National Natural Park – Colombia (Bachelor's thesis). Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, Bogotá, CO.Google Scholar
Jiménez, M, Granados, A and Ortiz, L (2007) Analysis of scientific information in the Veracruz Reef System. In Granados, A, Arenas, L and Vargas, J (eds), Scientific Research in the Veracruz Reef System. Campeche: Autonomous University of Campeche, pp. 1–15.Google Scholar
La Fauci, D (2017) Spatial segregation by age class in the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagü, 1821) of the central coast of Veracruz (MSc thesis). Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, MX.Google Scholar
Labadie, G, Tixier, P, Barbraud, C, Fay, R, Gasco, N, Duhamel, G and Guinet, C (2018) First demographic insights on historically harvested and poorly known male sperm whale populations off the Crozet and Kerguelen Islands (Southern Ocean). Marine Mammal Science, 34, 595–615Google Scholar
Lauriano, G, Fortuna, C, Moltedo, G and Notarbartolo di Sciara, G (2004) Interactions between common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and the artisanal fishery in Asinara Island National Park (Sardinia): assessment of catch damage and economic loss. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 6, 165–173.Google Scholar
Lee, P and Graham, M (2006) African elephants and human–elephant interactions: implications for conservation. International Zoo Yearbook 40, 9–19.Google Scholar
López-Portillo, J, Martínez, ML, Hespe, P, Hernández, JR, Méndez, AP, Vásquez-Reyes, V, Gámez-Aguilar, LR, Jiménez-Orocio, O and Gachuz-Delgado, SI (2011) Atlas of the Coasts of Veracruz Mangroves and Coastal Dunes. Xalapa, Veracruz: Secretaría de Educación-Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz, Universidad Veracruzana, 248 pp.Google Scholar
López-Rull, I (2013) Behaviour measurement methods. In Martínez-Gómez, M, Lucio, R and Rodríguez-Antolín, J (eds), Behavioral Biology: Contributions From Physiology. Tlaxcala: Autonomous University of Tlaxcala, pp. 47–60.Google Scholar
Medel, R, Aizen, M and Zamora, R (2009) Ecology and Evolution of Plant–Animal Interaction. Santiago of Chile: Editorial Universitaria.Google Scholar
Medellín-Ortiz, B (2012) Sex-specific differences in the core areas of dolphin Tursiops truncatus in front of the lagoon system of Alvarado. Gulf of Mexico (Master's thesis). Veracruzana University, Veracruz, MX.Google Scholar
Miller, L, Solangi, M and Kuczaj, S (2010) Seasonal and diurnal patterns of behavior exhibited by Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Mississippi sound. Ethology 116, 1127–1137.Google Scholar
Morales-Rincon, N (2016) Behaviour of bottlenose dolphin Comportamiento de tursiones (Tursiops truncatus) in interaction with artisanal fisheries on the central coast of Veracruz, México (Master's thesis). Veracruzana University, Xalapa, MX.Google Scholar
Morteo, E (2011) Social ecology of dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the coastal waters of Alvarado, Veracruz, México (Doctoral thesis). Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico.Google Scholar
Morteo, E and Hernández-Candelario, I (2007) Preliminary results about the relationships between dolphins Tursiops truncatus, boats and fishing gear in the Veracruz Reef System. In Granados, A, Arenas, L and Vargas, J (eds), Scientific Investigations in the Veracruz Reef System. Campeche: Autonomous University of Campeche, pp. 241–256.Google Scholar
Morteo, E, Rocha-Olivares, A, Arceo-Briseño, P and Abarca-Arenas, LG (2012) Spatial analyses of bottlenose dolphin–fisheries interactions reveal human avoidance off a productive lagoon in the western Gulf of Mexico. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 92, 1893–1900.Google Scholar
Morteo, E, Rocha-Olivares, A and Abarca-Arenas, L (2014) Sexual segregation of coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Aquatic Mammals 40, 375–385.Google Scholar
Morteo, E, Rocha-Olivares, A and Abarca-Arenas, LG (2017) Abundance, residency and potential hazards for coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) off a productive lagoon in the Gulf of Mexico. Aquatic Mammals 43, 308–319.Google Scholar
Murillo, J and Díaz, J (1995) Cognitive Architecture in Cats: an Ethological and Quantitative Approach. Mexico, DF: National Autonomous University of Mexico.Google Scholar
Nadeau, A (2013) Operational interaction between the common sea lion Otaria flavescens (Shaw, 1800) and artisanal purse seine fishing off the coast of Caldivia, XIV River region (Bachelor's thesis). Austral University of Chile, Valdivia, CL.Google Scholar
Neumann, R and Orams, B (2005) Behaviour and ecology of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and the impact of tourism in Mercury Bay, North Island, New Zealand. Science for Conservation 254, 1–40.Google Scholar
Nowacek, S and Wells, R (2001) Short-term effects of boat traffic on bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Marine Mammals Science 17, 673–688.Google Scholar
Owen, E, Wells, R and Hofmann, S (2002) Ranging and association patterns of paired and unpaired adult male Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota, Florida, provide no evidence for alternative male strategies. Canadian Journal of Zoology – Revue Canadienne De Zoologie 80, 2072–2089.Google Scholar
Peña-Mondragón, J and Castillo, A (2013) Predation of cattle by jaguar and other carnivores in northeastern Mexico. Therya 4, 431–446.Google Scholar
Petryna, A and Bavera, G (2002) Ethology. Animal Production Courses, National University of Rio Cuarto.Google Scholar
Powell, J and Wells, R (2011) Recreational fishing depredation and associated behaviors involving common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Marine Mammal Science 27, 111–129.Google Scholar
Read, AJ, Kraus, SD, Bisak, KD and Palka, D (1993) Harbor porpoises and gill nets in the Gulf of Maine. Conservation Biology 7, 189–193.Google Scholar
Rechimont, ME, Lara-Domínguez, AL, Morteo, E, Martínez-Serrano, I and Equihua, M (2018) Depredation by coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico in relation to fishing techniques. Aquatic Mammals 44, 458–470.Google Scholar
Reeves, R, Read, A and Notarbartolo di Sciara, G (2001) Report of the Workshop on Interactions between Dolphins and Fisheries in the Mediterranean: Evaluation of Mitigation Alternatives.Google Scholar
Rocklin, D, Santoni, M-C, Culioli, J-M, Tomasini, J-A, Pelletier, D and Mouillot, D (2009) Changes in the catch composition of artisanal fisheries attributable to dolphin depredation in a Mediterranean marine reserve. Journal of Marine Science, 699–707.Google Scholar
Sargeant, B and Mann, J (2009) Developmental evidence for foraging traditions in wild bottlenose dolphins. Animal Behaviour 78, 715–721.Google Scholar
Shane, S (1990) Behavior and ecology of the bottlenose dolphin at Sanible Island, Florida. In Leatherwood, S and Reeves, RR (eds), The Bottlenose Dolphin. New York, NY: Academic Press, pp. 541–558.Google Scholar
Shane, S, Wells, R and Wursig, B (1986) Ecology, behavior and social organization of the bottlenose dolphin: a review. Marine Mammal Science 2, 34–63.Google Scholar
Simultea, M and Lomac-MacNair, K (2016) Assessing ‘observer effects’ from a research aircraft on behavior of three delphinidae species (Grampus griseus, Delphinus dephis and Orcinus orca). Wildlife Biology in Practice 12, 75–90.Google Scholar
Srinivasan, M, Swannack, T, Grant, W, Rajan, J and Würsig, B (2017) To feed or not to feed? Bioenergetic impacts of fear-driven behaviors in lactating dolphin. Ecology and Evolution 8, 1384–1398.Google Scholar
Tinbergen, N (1963) On aims and methods of ethology. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 20, 410–433Google Scholar
Villamizar, N (2001) Preliminary aspects on the ethology of the seahorse Hippocampus reidi (Ginsig, 1933) under conditions of captivity at the Marine World Aquarium UJTL Santa Marta (Bachelor thesis). University of Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Bogotá, Colombia.Google Scholar
Waples, D, Thorne, L, Hodge, L, Burke, E, Urian, K and Read, A (2013) A field test of acoustic deterrent devices used to reduce interactions between bottlenose dolphins and a coastal gillnet fishery. Biological Conservation 157, 163–171.Google Scholar
Whitehead, H and Dufault, S (1999) Techniques for analysing vertebrate social structure using identified individuals: review and recommendations. Advances in the Study of Behavior 28, 33–74.Google Scholar
Würsig, B, Cipriano, F and Würsig, M (1998) Dolphin movements patterns: information from radio and theodolite tracking studies. In Pryor, K and Norris, K (eds), Dolphin Societies: Discoveries and Puzzles. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 79–111.Google Scholar
Yin, S (1999) Movement patterns, behaviors, and whistle sounds of dolphin groups off Kaikoura, New Zealand (Master's thesis). Brown University, EU.Google Scholar