From narrow and overlapped to wide and segregated: The isotopic niche of a tropical cetacean community

Abstract

Species in sympatry can coexist due to some degree of niche partitioning. Four cetacean species, Guiana (Sotalia guianensis), franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei), Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis), and rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), frequently occur in Ilha Grande Bay (RJ), with three of them presenting residence pattern. This tropical bay is considered a biodiversity hotspot and preserved by marine protected areas, though located in a highly developed region of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. To verify niche partitioning and segregation in these species and to explore the trophic structure of this cetacean community, their isotopic niches were investigated through carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes in the muscle of specimens stranded in the region between 2012 and 2022. The rough-toothed dolphin had the largest niche area and high segregation. On the other hand, there was a high niche overlap between the species that have site fidelity patterns in the bay. The Atlantic spotted dolphin had the highest values for almost all the Layman metrics, a large niche area, and trophic diversity; the Guiana dolphin explored a diverse variety of resources, and the franciscana dolphin presented the narrowest and most overlapped niche and the lowest niche diversification. This is the first study to access the trophic ecology of this cetacean community. Our results indicate that the region is an important foraging area for three of the studied species, with a high diversity and availability of resources that might enable the high niche overlap observed for resident species. The findings for the threatened and small franciscana population in this recently discovered habitat bring concern. Therefore, the area deserves conservation attention to prevent anthropogenic stressors from interfering in the relationship balance between these sympatric predators.