Association patterns and population dynamics of bottlenose dolphins in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea): implication for management

ELENA PAPALE; MARIA CERAULO; GISELA GIARDINO; GASPARE BUFFA; FRANCESCO FILICIOTTO; ROSARIO GRAMMAUTA; VINCENZO MACCARRONE; SALVATORE MAZZOLA; GIUSEPPA BUSCAINO

POPULATION ECOLOGY

SPRINGER TOKYO

Lugar: Tokyo; Año: 2017 vol. 59 p. 55 - 64

1438-3896

An understanding of the population dynamicsand social organization of cetaceans is essential to managethe influence of anthropogenic activities. In this study, thepopulation size, site fidelity and social interactions ofbottlenose dolphins in the Strait of Sicily (Italy) wereinvestigated to provide recommendations for their conservation.Mark-recapture analysis was based on the encounterhistories of 103 marked dolphins from 2004 to 2015.The POPAN formulation of the Jolly?Seber model inMARK software was used to estimate the size of the superpopulation.Site fidelity and social organization were estimatedfor individuals re-sighted C3 times. The estimatedpopulation size was 140 (SE = 15.75; 95%CI = 106?164). Dolphins had low site fidelity, and bothadults and sub-adults move outside the study area. Femaleswith calves used the area longer than other individuals.Based on our results, dolphins? home range likely extendedbeyond the study area. The mean value of the Half-WeightAssociation Index was low and the preferred associationwas by casual acquaintance. However, we found a distinctaggregation of post-parturition females during the final2 years of the study. Therefore, the pattern of associationwas apparently a response to an ecological requirement,which was the possibility to breed in high productivitywaters. Whether these individuals are part of a large