Prey selection by the common dolphin: Fulfilling high energy requirements with high quality food

Spitz, Jérôme; Mourocq, Emeline; Léauté, Jean-Pierre; Quéro, Jean-Claude; Ridoux, Vincent

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2010.05.010

Cited by 79 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In the Atlantic, common dolphins are known to choose energy-rich prey over low-quality prey, even when low-quality prey are abundant in the environment (Spitz et al 2010). Coastal pelagic fish species (CPS) are a preferred prey for common dolphins in the Pacific (Fitch & Brownell 1968, Evans 1975, Osnes-Erie 1999 and are known to respond to the onset of the upwelling season and changing oceano graphic conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Common dolphin distribution in the region is also known to vary on seasonal and inter-annual time scales, likely related to shifting prey distributions and oceano graphic conditions (Campbell et al 2015). Opportunistic feeding behavior of common dolphins ob served around the world suggests that their diet represents prey that are locally available and energy-rich (Silva 1999, Pusineri et al 2007, Meynier et al 2008, Spitz et al 2010. Therefore, the foraging behavior of common dolphins may indicate the distribution and relative abundance of dolphin prey.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Lunar cycles affect common dolphin Delphinus delphis foraging in the Southern California Bight

Simonis¹,

Roch²,

Bailey³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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In the Southern California Bight, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis is the most abundant dolphin species and preys upon small pelagic fish, mesopelagic fish, and cephalopods. Mesopelagic fish and many cephalopods are available throughout the year, and they form deep scattering layers, some of which characteristically undergo strong diel vertical migrations. The extent of vertical migration depends on the degree of sea surface solar and lunar illumination. At their daytime depth, mesopelagic prey are beyond the range of shallow-diving dolphins. Autonomous acoustic recorders were used to monitor dolphin echolocation at 2 offshore recording locations from 2009 to 2014. Manual and automated classification techniques were used to identify periods of high echolocation activity, indicative of common dolphin foraging. Clear lunar patterns existed in cool months, when echolocation activity was highest during the darkest periods of the night and lunar month, indicating times when dolphins were foraging, possibly on mesopelagic prey. Echolocation was more abundant during warm months, but diel and lunar patterns in echolocation were weaker. Generalized additive mixed models show that the observed patterns in echolocation activity are correlated with lunar day and position of the moon in the night sky. Seasonal patterns may represent geographic shifts in common dolphin populations, shoaling scattering layers, or prey switching behavior during the warm months, whereby dolphins target small pelagic fish not associated with the deep scattering layers. Overall, dolphin foraging activity declined from 2009 to 2014 during warm months, which may be related to a declining abundance of small pelagic fish.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lunar cycles affect common dolphin Delphinus delphis foraging in the Southern California Bight

Simonis¹,

Roch²,

Bailey³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Predation pressure affects the age structure, genetic selection, and habitat selection of prey species (Bax, 1998;van Baalen et al, 2001;Heithaus and Dill, 2006;Wirsing et al, 2008). In turn, predators are expected to behave according to the optimal foraging theory, which states that a predator maximizes energy intake by balancing the energy expended in searching and capturing prey with the energy gained from metabolizing that food (van Baalen et al, 2001;Spitz et al, 2010a). The distribution patterns (Barros and Wells, 1998;Lambert et al, 2014), group size, and social structure of social predators are thus influenced by the distribution and composition of prey (O'Donoghue et al, 1998;Meynier et al, 2008;Foster et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dolphin Prey Availability and Calorific Value in an Estuarine and Coastal Environment

2016

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Prey density has long been associated with prey profitability for a predator, but prey quality has seldom been quantified. We assessed the potential prey availability and calorific value for Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in an estuarine and coastal environment of temperate south-western Australia. Fish were sampled using three methods (21.5 m beach seine, multi-mesh gillnet, and fish traps), across three regions (Estuary, Bay, and Ocean) in the study area. The total biomass and numbers of all species and those of potential dolphin prey were determined in austral summers and winters between 2007 and 2010. The calorific value of 19 species was determined by bomb calorimetry. The aim of the research was to evaluate the significance of prey availability in explaining the higher abundance of dolphins in the region in summer vs. winter across years. A higher abundance of prey was captured in the summer (mean of two summer seasons 12,080 ± 160) than in the winter (mean of two winter seasons = 7358 ± 343) using the same number of gear sets in each season and year. In contrast, higher biomass and higher energy rich prey were captured during winters than during summers, when fewer dolphins are present in the area. Variability was significant between season and region for the gillnet (p < 0.01), and seine (p < 0.01). The interaction of season and region was also significant for the calorific content captured by the traps (p < 0.03), and between the seasons for biomass of the trap catch (p < 0.02). The dolphin mother and calf pairs that remain in the Estuary and Bay year round may be sustained by the higher quality, and generally larger, if lesser abundant, prey in the winter months. Furthermore, factors such as predator avoidance and mating opportunities are likely to influence patterns of local dolphin abundance. This study provides insights into the complex dynamics of predator-prey interactions, and highlights the importance for a better understanding of prey abundance, distribution and calorific content in explaining the spatial ecology of large apex predators.

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“…Free-ranging dolphins do indeed display a feeding selectivity as they preferentially select high-energy density fish species even though they are less abundant than low-energy density fish species (Spitz et al, 2010). One possibility is TABLE 3 | Average latency to beg for another ice cube (in seconds) and number of given ice cubes for the differently flavored stimuli and for each individual dolphin (mean ± SE; n).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory Perception in Cetaceans: Part II—Promising Experimental Approaches to Study Chemoreception in Dolphins

et al. 2016

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Chemosensory perception in cetaceans remains an intriguing issue as morphological, neuroanatomical and genetic studies draw unclear conclusions, while behavioral data suggest that dolphins may use it for food selection or socio-sexual interactions. Experimental approaches have been scarce due to the practical difficulties of testing chemoreception in wild dolphins. Go/no-go tasks are one elegant way to investigate discrimination abilities; however, they require to train the animals, thus preventing spontaneous responses and hence the expression of preferences. Here, we aimed at testing potential spontaneous responses to chemical stimuli and developed novel procedures. First, we conducted a study to test whether captive dolphins respond to a biologically relevant smell. Therefore, we placed dead fish within an opaque barrel at the border of the pool and counted the number of respirations at proximity as an indicator of investigation. The same dead fishes were presented several times during experiments lasting three consecutive days. From the second day on (i.e., when the odor composition changed), dolphins breathed more often close to the fish-smelling barrel than close to the visually identical but empty control barrel. Second, we conducted a study to test whether dolphins are able to discriminate food flavors. Captive dolphins are commonly provided with ice cubes as a source of enrichment. We took this opportunity to provide ice cubes with different flavors and to compare the reaction to these different flavors as a measure of discrimination. Hence, we used the latency of return to the ice cube begging spot as a measure of discrimination from the previous ice cube flavor. Thus, our method used a non-invasive and easily replicable technique based on the spontaneous begging responses of dolphins toward more or less attractive items bearing biological relevance. The procedures used enabled us to show that dolphins may discriminate odors and flavors respectively.

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Prey selection by the common dolphin: Fulfilling high energy requirements with high quality food

Cited by 79 publications

References 24 publications

Lunar cycles affect common dolphin Delphinus delphis foraging in the Southern California Bight

Lunar cycles affect common dolphin Delphinus delphis foraging in the Southern California Bight

Dolphin Prey Availability and Calorific Value in an Estuarine and Coastal Environment

Sensory Perception in Cetaceans: Part II—Promising Experimental Approaches to Study Chemoreception in Dolphins

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