Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic
Communication is important for social and other behavioural interactions in most marine mammal species. The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu, 1821) is a highly social species that use whistles as communication calls to express identity and to initiate and maintain contact between soci...
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Language: | English |
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University College Cork
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ftunivcollcork:oai:cora.ucc.ie:10468/1546 2023-08-27T04:10:51+02:00 Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic Englund, Anneli Rogan, Emer Ingram, Simon N. 2014 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1546 en eng University College Cork Englund, A. 2014. Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. 170 http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1546 © 2014, Anneli Englund http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus North Atlantic Whistle variation Population structure Habitat use Ecotype Doctoral thesis Doctoral PhD (Science) 2014 ftunivcollcork 2023-08-06T14:31:53Z Communication is important for social and other behavioural interactions in most marine mammal species. The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu, 1821) is a highly social species that use whistles as communication calls to express identity and to initiate and maintain contact between socially interactive individuals. In this thesis, the degree of variability in whistle behaviour and whistle characteristics was examined between different habitats on a range of spatial scales. The whistle characteristics that best discriminated between different communities were investigated, along with exploration of whistle variation in relation to habitat type, levels of social interaction and relatedness. Finally, the use and variability of individually distinctive calls (signature whistles) within and between Irish and US waters were also examined. Relatively high levels of whistle variation were found within a genetically and socially isolated population of dolphins in the Shannon Estuary, reflecting the need for individual identification and distinctive whistles in a population with long term site fidelity and high levels of social cohesion. Variation between reproductively separate communities in Irish waters was relatively small except between animals in inshore compared with continental shelf waters. The greatest differences in whistle structure overall were evident between dolphins using inshore and offshore US waters, likely reflecting social isolation of the two distinct ecotypes that occur in these waters but also variation in behaviour or habitat conditions. Variation found among inshore communities in US waters reflected similarities in habitat use and levels of social interaction. These findings suggest that vocal variation is socially mediated, behaviourally maintained and dependent on levels of social contact between individuals. The findings contribute to our understanding of the interaction of factors influencing vocalisation behaviour in this behaviourally complex and ecologically plastic species. Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis North Atlantic University College Cork, Ireland: Cork Open Research Archive (CORA) Montagu ENVELOPE(-26.333,-26.333,-58.417,-58.417) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College Cork, Ireland: Cork Open Research Archive (CORA) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcollcork |
language |
English |
topic |
Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus North Atlantic Whistle variation Population structure Habitat use Ecotype |
spellingShingle |
Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus North Atlantic Whistle variation Population structure Habitat use Ecotype Englund, Anneli Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic |
topic_facet |
Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus North Atlantic Whistle variation Population structure Habitat use Ecotype |
description |
Communication is important for social and other behavioural interactions in most marine mammal species. The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu, 1821) is a highly social species that use whistles as communication calls to express identity and to initiate and maintain contact between socially interactive individuals. In this thesis, the degree of variability in whistle behaviour and whistle characteristics was examined between different habitats on a range of spatial scales. The whistle characteristics that best discriminated between different communities were investigated, along with exploration of whistle variation in relation to habitat type, levels of social interaction and relatedness. Finally, the use and variability of individually distinctive calls (signature whistles) within and between Irish and US waters were also examined. Relatively high levels of whistle variation were found within a genetically and socially isolated population of dolphins in the Shannon Estuary, reflecting the need for individual identification and distinctive whistles in a population with long term site fidelity and high levels of social cohesion. Variation between reproductively separate communities in Irish waters was relatively small except between animals in inshore compared with continental shelf waters. The greatest differences in whistle structure overall were evident between dolphins using inshore and offshore US waters, likely reflecting social isolation of the two distinct ecotypes that occur in these waters but also variation in behaviour or habitat conditions. Variation found among inshore communities in US waters reflected similarities in habitat use and levels of social interaction. These findings suggest that vocal variation is socially mediated, behaviourally maintained and dependent on levels of social contact between individuals. The findings contribute to our understanding of the interaction of factors influencing vocalisation behaviour in this behaviourally complex and ecologically plastic species. |
author2 |
Rogan, Emer Ingram, Simon N. |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Englund, Anneli |
author_facet |
Englund, Anneli |
author_sort |
Englund, Anneli |
title |
Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic |
title_short |
Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic |
title_full |
Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic |
title_sort |
acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus, montagu 1821) in the north atlantic |
publisher |
University College Cork |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1546 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-26.333,-26.333,-58.417,-58.417) |
geographic |
Montagu |
geographic_facet |
Montagu |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
Englund, A. 2014. Acoustic behaviour, ecology and social structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) in the North Atlantic. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. 170 http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1546 |
op_rights |
© 2014, Anneli Englund http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ |
_version_ |
1775353196721471488 |