Abstract
BackgroundLimited information is available regarding the habitat preference of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in South Australian estuarine environments. The need to overcome this paucity of information is crucial for management and conservation initiatives. This preliminary study investigates the space-time patterns of habitat preference by the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin in the Port Adelaide River-Barker Inlet estuary, a South Australian, urbanised, coastal environment. More specifically, the study aim was to identify a potential preference between bare sand substrate and seagrass beds, the two habitat types present in this environment, through the resighting frequency of recognisable individual dolphins.ResultsPhoto-identification surveys covering the 118 km2 sanctuary area were conducted over 2 survey periods May to August 2006 and from March 2009 to February 2010. Sighting frequency of recognisable individual Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins established a significant preference for the bare sand habitat. More specifically, 72 and 18% of the individuals sighted at least on two occasions were observed in the bare sand and seagrass habitats respectively. This trend was consistently observed at both seasonal and annual scales, suggesting a consistency in the distinct use of these two habitats.ConclusionsIt is anticipated that these results will benefit the further development of management and conservation strategies.
Highlights
Limited information is available regarding the habitat preference of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in South Australian estuarine environments
In the absence of a map of the benthic habitat in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary (ADS), we conducted a preliminary sampling survey to assess the nature of the benthic habitat, which showed that the ADS supports two main benthic habitat types that may be used by dolphins (Figure 1)
South Australian gulfs) is unlikely to affect the dynamics of bottlenose dolphins in contrast to megatidal areas such as Aberdeen harbour [40]
Summary
Limited information is available regarding the habitat preference of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in South Australian estuarine environments. The need to overcome this paucity of information is crucial for management and conservation initiatives This preliminary study investigates the space-time patterns of habitat preference by the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin in the Port Adelaide River-Barker Inlet estuary, a South Australian, urbanised, coastal environment. Understanding the space-time movement patterns and distribution of organisms within their environments can provide insight into the preference of specific areas [1]; information considered essential in the development of management and conservation initiatives [2]. In this context, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) are no exception. Little is still known about this species habitat preference in estuarine locations [16]
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