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BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus): Northern Gulf of Mexico Bay, Sound, and Estuarine Stocks 2009

STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE Bottlenose dolphins are distributed throughout the bays, sounds and estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico (Mullin 1988). The identification of biologically-meaningful " stocks " of bottlenose dolphins in these waters is complicated by the high degree of behavioral variability exhibited by this species (Shane et al. 1986; Wells and Scott 1999; Wells 2003), and by the lack of requisite information for much of the region. Distinct stocks are provisionally identified in each of 33 areas of contiguous, enclosed or semi-enclosed bodies of water adjacent to the northern Gulf of Mexico (i.e., U.S. Gulf of Mexico) (Table 1, based on descriptions of relatively discrete dolphin " communities " in some of these areas). A " community " includes resident dolphins that regularly share large portions of their ranges, exhibit similar distinct genetic profiles, and interact with each other to a much greater extent than with dolphins in adjacent waters. The term, as adapted from Wells et al.(1987), emphasizes geographic, genetic and social relationships of dolphins. Bottlenose dolphin communities do not constitute closed demographic populations, as individuals from adjacent communities are known to interbreed. Nevertheless, the geographic nature of these areas and long-term, multi-generational stability of residency patterns suggest that many of these communities exist as functioning units of their ecosystems, and under the Marine Mammal Protection Act must be maintained as such. Also, the stable patterns of residency observed within communities suggest that long periods would be required to repopulate the home range of a community were it eradicated or severely depleted. Thus, in the absence of information supporting management on a larger scale, it is appropriate to adopt a risk-averse approach and focus management efforts at the level of the community rather than at some larger demographic scale. Biological support for this risk-averse approach derives from several sources. Long-term (year-round, multi-year) residency by at least some individuals has been reported from nearly every site where photographic identification or tagging studies have been conducted in the have been reported as long-term residents. Hubard et al.(2004) reported sightings of dolphins tagged 12-15 years previously in Mississippi Sound. In Florida, long-term residency has been concluded the bottlenose dolphin population in the Barataria Basin was relatively closed. In many cases, residents emphasize use of the bay, sound or estuary waters, with limited movements through passes to the These habitat use patterns are reflected in the ecology of the dolphins …