Acoustic divergence between bottlenose dolphin whistles from the Central-Eastern North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

• Published in: acta ethologica
• Main Authors: PAPALE, ELENA, GIACOMA, Cristina, Azzolin Marta, Cascão Irma, Gannier Alexandre, Lammers Marc, Martin Vidal, Oswald Julie, Perez Gil Monica, Prieto Rui, Silva Monica
• Other Authors: Papale Elena, Perez-Gil Monica, Giacoma Cristina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Bottlenose dolphin; Intra-specific difference; Mediterranean; Atlantic; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2318/139280; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-013-0172-2; http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10211-013-0172-2

To improve our understanding of the complex genetic and ecological structure of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) populations, we examined the acoustic features of communication signals from two geographically contiguous areas: the Central–Eastern North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Variations in the whistles were evaluated for four locations. Ten signal parameters were measured and used to statistically differentiate between the areas. Over 79 % of sightings were correctly classified by discriminant function analysis, confirming an acoustic differentiation between the two basins. The results of cluster analysis using the mean values of the parameters for each sighting showed that the three easternmost sightings from the Mediterranean and one sighting from the Canary archipelago formed a separate cluster from the rest of the Atlantic. The two sightings from the Alboran Sea in the west Mediterranean were grouped with the Atlantic recordings. There was more variability in whistles from the Atlantic Ocean consistent with data from genetic and photo-identification studies that document resident and non-resident animals in the area. The results suggest that the Alboran area may be inhabited by animals differentiated from the rest of the Mediterranean basin as a result of habitat features.