COMMON DOLPHIN (Delphinus delphis): Western North Atlantic Stock

• Main Authors: Stock Definition, Geographic Range
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: to Georges Bank (35 o to 42 o N) in outer continental shelf; Payne; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.176.7095; http://www.nero.noaa.gov/prot_res/atgtrp/ame/Common%20Dolphin.pdf

The common dolphin may be one of the most widely distributed species of cetaceans, as it is found world-wide in temperate, tropical, and subtropical seas. In the North Atlantic, common dolphins appear to be present along the coast over the continental shelf along the 200-2000m isobaths or over prominent underwater topography from 50ºN to 40ºS latitude (Evans 1994). The species is less common south of Cape Hatteras, although schools have been reported as far south as eastern Florida (Gaskin 1992). At least some of the reported sightings of common dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico may have been Stenella clymene, which has a color pattern similar to that of common dolphins (Evans 1994). NMFS is currently funding genetic and skull morphometric studies, which will provide information on common dolphin stock structure in the western North Atlantic. Preliminary work had documented a high variance in skull morphometric measurements, suggesting the existence of more than a single stock. Common dolphins are distributed along the continental slope (100 to 2,000 meters), and are associated with Gulf Stream features in waters off the northeastern U.S. coast (CETAP 1982; Selzer and Payne 1988; Waring et al. 1992). They are widespread from Cape Hatteras northeast