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Opportunistic sightings of bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, along the southeast Florida coast and Florida Bay, 1992-1997
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2000
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[PDF-2.31 MB]
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Description:The bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, is the most common cetacean species found in nearshore waters of the Florida Keys and in Florida Bay. Opportunistic sightings from aerial surveys provide rough estimates of the relative abundance of bottlenose dolphin in these waters. These surveys have been conducted along the southeast Florida coast since September 1992 to document vessel usage in the Keys and since March 1995 to census bird populations in t he Florida Bay. Sightings of 1,851 bottlenose dolphins occurred in 109 surveys from inception through December 1997. Herd sizes, seasonality, and encounter rates were compared between the two areas, as well as with previous studies in nearby areas. The total number of bottlenose dolphins per survey was 18.57 (range 0 - 116) in Florida Keys nearshore waters and 13.47 (rang e 0 - 49) in Florida Bay. Mean herd size was 6.06 dolphins (range 1 -36) in Florida Keys nearshore waters versus 3.03 dolphins (range 1 - 18) in Florida Bay. Seasonality had no effect on numbers observed in either area. Encounter rates were higher in Florida Keys nearshore waters (0.12 per nautical mile) than i n Florida Bay (0.04 per nautical mile), suggesting that bottlenose dolphins may be more abundant in nearshore waters of the Florida Keys than in Florida Bay.
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Content Notes:D. B. McClellan, J. A . Browder, J. L. Tobias, G. J. Konoval, M. D. Hearon, O. Bass, and J. Osborne
"April 2000."
Also available online in PDF format.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 7-8).
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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