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Sequential foraging behaviour of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay, FL

Publication ,  Journal Article
Nowacek, DP
Published in: BEHAVIOUR
September 2002

Detailed analyses of dolphin foraging behaviour have typically been difficult due to researchers' inability to observe entire foraging sequences. Using a new observational tool I was able to observe sequences of behaviours leading to successful prey captures, including behaviours not previously described in Sarasota Bay dolphins. I defined a set of specific foraging behaviours and demonstrated their position in successful sequences by analyzing the conditional probability of their occurrence based the occurrence of a capture. The sequences of behaviours dolphins used were not deterministic, and individual dolphins displayed different behavioural repertoires. Foraging behaviours occurred at rates of up to 0.5 per minute during general activity categories commonly used in odontocete research, and the current results could assist in the interpretation of these activities.

Duke Scholars

Published In

BEHAVIOUR

ISSN

0005-7959

Publication Date

September 2002

Volume

139

Issue

Part 9

Start / End Page

1125 / 1145

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

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MLA
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Nowacek, D. P. “Sequential foraging behaviour of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay, FL.” BEHAVIOUR 139, no. Part 9 (September 2002): 1125–45.
Nowacek, D. P. “Sequential foraging behaviour of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay, FL.” BEHAVIOUR, vol. 139, no. Part 9, Sept. 2002, pp. 1125–45.
Journal cover image

Published In

BEHAVIOUR

ISSN

0005-7959

Publication Date

September 2002

Volume

139

Issue

Part 9

Start / End Page

1125 / 1145

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology