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The foraging ecology of coastal bottlenose dolphins based on stable isotope mixing models and behavioural sampling

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Abstract

Understanding trophic interactions is critical for elucidating ecological roles of marine predators. We used behavioural observations and stable isotope mixing models to investigate the feeding ecology of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the lagoon of Mayotte (East Africa). We identified prey during 77 % of 54 observed feeding events, observed in both rainy (61 % of events) and dry (39 %) seasons. Caranx melampygus and Gnathanodon speciosus were involved in 67 % of these events, with Tylosurus crocodilus (20 %) and Mugil cephalus (13 %) also consumed. Mixing models, based on δ13C and δ15N values of skin and blubber (n = 30 samples for both tissues), suggest that behavioural observations are representative of general feeding patterns. Indeed, C. melampygus and T. crocodilus (G. speciosus could not be included in models) were estimated to contribute most to dolphin diets, with mean estimated contributions of 44.6 % (±18.9) and 48.1 % (±19.1) for skin and 73.7 % (±14.9) and 16.9 % (±12.4) for blubber, respectively. Our results highlight the value of two independent methods (stable isotopes and behavioural observations) to assess prey preferences of free-ranging dolphins.

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Acknowledgments

Data were collected during a joined programme of the University of La Rochelle, the Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage and the Collectivité Départementale de Mayotte. Funding was provided by the Conseil Général de Mayotte, the Ministère de l’Energie, l’Ecologie, le Développement Durable et de la Mer (MEEDDM), the University of La Rochelle and the Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage. We thank R. Rolland, A. Jamon, I. Ousseni, J. Wickel (DAF), S. Caceres, F. Charlier, D. Girou, C. Pusineri (ONCFS), D. Fray (CDM) and the personnel of Brigade Nature (CDM and ONCFS) for assistance in the field in Mayotte. Thanks are also addressed to K. Layssac (Service des Affaires Maritimes de Mayotte) for his contribution in the collection of fish samples. We are also grateful to Gaël Guillou (University of La Rochelle) for running the mass spectrometer analyses. We thank two anonymous reviewers who greatly improved our paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Sciences Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151 St., North Miami, FL, 33181, USA

    Jeremy J. Kiszka & Michael R. Heithaus

  2. Institut du Littoral et de l’Environnement, LIENSs (Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés), UMR 7266, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France

    Paula Méndez-Fernandez & Vincent Ridoux

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  1. Jeremy J. Kiszka
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  2. Paula Méndez-Fernandez
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Correspondence to Jeremy J. Kiszka.

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Communicated by C. Harrod.

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Kiszka, J.J., Méndez-Fernandez, P., Heithaus, M.R. et al. The foraging ecology of coastal bottlenose dolphins based on stable isotope mixing models and behavioural sampling. Mar Biol 161, 953–961 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2395-9

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