Intra-Population Variability in Group Size of Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis)

Abstract

Group size is a key social trait influencing population dynamics of group-living animals. The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (IPHDs), Sousa chinensis, a shallow water delphinid species, display a fission-fusion social system. Yet little is known about how social organization of this species vary with temporal scales and behavioral state. In this study, we sampled group size estimates from the world’s second largest population of humpback dolphins (Sousa spp.), which inhabit the eastern waters of Zhanjiang, China. IPHD group sizes changed seasonally and inter-annually, but not with tidal phases. Group sizes also changed with behavioral state of IPHD groups and with number of mother-calf pairs present. IPHDs formed larger groups in the autumn than in other seasons, which might be related to seasonal changes in food availability and reproductive cycle. Of the groups observed, we recorded the presence of mother-calf pair in 85 groups (i.e., nursery groups: 47 ones with one pair, 25 ones with two pairs, and others with three pairs). Notably, nursery groups were about 2–4 times larger than non-nursery groups. In addition, group sizes greatly increased with the number of mother-calf pairs. Living in relatively large groups, more protection, food, and resources might be available for IPHD mothers and calves, and such social strategy provide higher reproduction efficiency and survival success for this species. During our observations, feeding (45.5%) and traveling (25.2%) represented the majority of IPHD’s behavioral budget, while socializing (8.4%) and resting/milling (6.8%) were not frequently observed. Resting/milling groups were approximately 50% smaller than feeding, traveling, or socializing groups, while the latter three types had a similar mean group size. Large groups when IPHDs foraged, traveled, or socialized, might provide more added group benefits. For the first time, our findings clearly revealed intra-population variability in IPHD group sizes across different behavioral and temporal variables, and provided a better understanding of IPHDs’ adaptations to various biological processes and ecological constraints.