New Record of California Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins in Offshore Waters
- Natural history
Abstract
California coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) comprise a distinct ecotype that typically inhabits waters < 1 km from shore and about 10 to 30 m deep, often to the surf zone (Defran & Weller, 1999; Defran et al., 1999; Bearzi et al., 2009; Perrin et al., 2011). An offshore bottlenose dolphin ecotype is found in deeper waters of California, usually more than a few kilometers from shore to well beyond the continental shelf edge (Defran & Weller, 1999; Bearzi et al., 2009; Perrin et al., 2011; Lowther-Thieleking et al., 2014). The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages these ecotypes as separate stocks (Carretta et al., 2017), differentiated by cranial morphology, diet, parasite load (Walker, 1981; Perrin et al., 2011), and genetics (LowtherThieleking et al., 2014). The two forms, however, cannot be reliably identified in the field based on external appearance (Walker, 1981; Leatherwood et al., 1982).
Webber, M.A., Keener, W., Spears, A.C., Cotter, M.P., Lane, R.S., Payne, A.R. and Markowitz, T.M., 2023. New Record of California Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Offshore Waters. Aquatic Mammals, 49(3), pp.241-247.
Tim Markowitz
Marc Webber
Bekah Lane
Bill Keener
bottlenose dolphins, geographic range, Farallon Island, California coastal dolphins
Meet The Experts
{"image":"\/People\/Portrait\/cropped-images\/marc-webber-0-196-1204-940-1618436847.jpg","alt":"Marc Webber","title":"Marc Webber","text":"Cetacean Field Research Associate","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/person\/marc-webber","link_text":"Read Bio"}
{"image":"\/People\/Portrait\/timothy-markowitz.jpg","alt":"Tim Markowitz","title":"Tim Markowitz","text":"Cetacean Field Research Associate","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/person\/tim-markowitz","link_text":"Read Bio"}
{"image":"\/People\/Portrait\/cropped-images\/bekah-lane-650-2-4421-3454-1639429863.jpg","alt":"Bekah Lane","title":"Bekah Lane","text":"Cetacean Field Research Specialist","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/person\/bekah-lane","link_text":"Read Bio"}
{"image":"\/People\/Portrait\/cropped-images\/bill-keener-0-0-3030-2314-1601930964.jpg","alt":"Bill Keener","title":"Bill Keener","text":"Cetacean Field Research Associate","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/person\/bill-keener","link_text":"Read Bio"}
Related Publications
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Harbor porpoise\/cropped-images\/harbor-porpoise-by-bill-keener-c-the-marine-mammal-center-309-73-1207-943-1610670087.jpg","alt":"Harbor porpoise surfacing in the water","title":"The Sex Life of Harbor Porpoises: Lateralized and Aerial Behavior","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/the-sex-life-of-harbor-porpoises-lateralized-and-aerial-behavior","label":"Research Paper"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Other species\/cropped-images\/stejnegers-beaked-whale-photo-c-marc-webber-0-0-949-742-1618440217.jpg","alt":"Stejneger's beaked whales","title":"Stejneger's Beaked Whale Strandings in Alaska, 1995\u20132020","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/stejnegers-beaked-whale-strandings-in-alaska-1995-2020","label":"Research Paper"}
{"image":"\/Misc\/Graphics\/cropped-images\/marine-mammals-of-the-world-book-cover-wide-graphic-201-0-882-689-1618448911.jpg","alt":"Marine Mammals of the World book cover","title":"Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/marine-mammals-of-the-world-a-comprehensive-guide-to-their-identification","label":null}
Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification
Read More{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Other species\/cropped-images\/striped-bass-shutterstock-754-2-4392-3430-1651011006.jpg","alt":"school of striped bass","title":"Seasonal Movement Patterns and Habitat Use of Striped Bass","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/seasonal-movement-patterns-and-habitat-use-of-striped-bass","label":"Research Paper"}
Related News
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Sea otter\/cropped-images\/sea-otter-shutterstock-118-0-2496-1950-1604015482.jpg","alt":"sea otter eating clams","title":"What Do Sea Otters Eat? And Other Otter Trivia","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/what-do-sea-otters-eat-and-other-otter-trivia","label":"News Update","date":"2023-09-21 02:00:00"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/Northern fur seals\/2022\/cropped-images\/nfs-juicebox-by-bill-hunnewell-c-the-marine-mammal-center-578-0-2865-2238-1667347585.jpg","alt":"northern fur seal Juicebox","title":"Los Angeles Times: These Are the 'Hot Spots' in California for Seal Harassment","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/los-angeles-times-these-are-the-hot-spots-in-california-for-seal-harassment","label":"In the News","date":"2023-06-09 02:00:00"}
Los Angeles Times: These Are the 'Hot Spots' in California for Seal Harassment
June 9, 2023
Read More{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/Harbor seals\/2016\/cropped-images\/hs-heyerdahl-pre-rescue-photo-c-rob-cala-608-6-4908-3833-1604444850.jpg","alt":"harbor seal pup on a sandy beach","title":"San Francisco Bay Area a Hot Spot for Marine Mammal Harassment, Experts Say","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/san-francisco-bay-area-a-hot-spot-for-marine-mammal-harassment-experts-say","label":"Press Release","date":"2023-06-05 02:00:00"}
San Francisco Bay Area a Hot Spot for Marine Mammal Harassment, Experts Say
June 5, 2023
Read More{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Harbor seal\/cropped-images\/harbor-seal-smiling-shutterstock-886-0-3678-2872-1616784514.jpg","alt":"harbor seal with mouth open ","title":"Wildlife Trivia: How Well Do You Know Marine Mammals?","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/wildlife-trivia-how-well-do-you-know-marine-mammals","label":"News Update","date":"2023-03-31 02:00:00"}
