Effects of tourist boats on the behaviour of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins off the south coast of Zanzibar

Abstract

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 11:91-99 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00265 Effects of tourist boats on the behaviour of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins off the south coast of Zanzibar Fredrik Christiansen1,*, David Lusseau2, Eva Stensland1, Per Berggren1,3 1Stockholm University, Department of Zoology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden 2University of Aberdeen, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK 3Present address: School of Marine Science and Technology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle NE1 7RU, UK *Email: f.christiansen@live.se ABSTRACT: The short-term effects of tourist boats on the behaviour of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins Tursiops aduncus were investigated off the south coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania, by comparing dolphin group behaviour in the presence (impact) and absence (control) of tourist boats. Group-follows were conducted from a carefully maneuvered (non-invasive) independent research vessel and behavioural data on group activity were collected using scan sampling methods. By using a time-discrete Markov chain model, the transition probabilities of passing/changing from one behavioural state to another were calculated and compared between impact and control situations. The data were further used to construct behavioural budgets. In the presence of tourist boats, dolphins were less likely to stay in a resting or socialising activity but were more likely to start travelling or foraging, as inferred from the Markov chain model. The behavioral budgets showed that foraging, resting and socialising all decreased as an effect of tourist boat presence, while travelling increased. The behavioural responses are likely to have energetic implications, mainly by increasing physical demands. Further, the results demonstrate that the current level of tourism intensity off the south coast of Zanzibar affects the dolphins’ cumulative behavioural budget. Regulations on dolphin tourism are therefore urgently needed to minimise potential long-term negative effects on the dolphins. KEY WORDS: Dolphin tourism · Tourism impact · Behavioural response · Tursiops aduncus · Markov chains · Behavioural budget · East Africa Full text in pdf format PreviousCite this article as: Christiansen F, Lusseau D, Stensland E, Berggren P (2010) Effects of tourist boats on the behaviour of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins off the south coast of Zanzibar. Endang Species Res 11:91-99. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00265 Export citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 11, No. 1. Online publication date: March 17, 2010 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.