New paper: Inter-island movements of common bottlenose

dolphins Tursiops truncatus among the Canary

Islands: online catalogues and implications for

conservation and management (Marta Tobeña)

Dear MARMAM subscribers,

We are pleased to announce the publication of our Note in the 2014 March of African Journal of Marine Science: 

M Tobeña, A Escánez, Y Rodríguez, C López, F Ritter & N Aguilar (2014): Inter-island movements

of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus among the Canary Islands: online catalogues and implications for

conservation and management, African Journal of Marine Science

 

*Summary:* A total of 313 individual common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus was photo-identified in four Special

Areas of Conservation (SACs) in the western Canary Islands, Spain (El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife),

over a 10-year period (2001–2011). Of these, 36 individuals were resighted subsequently off two or more different

islands, determined using online and conventional photo-identification catalogues. This study provides the first

evidence of regular, long-distance movements undertaken by common bottlenose dolphins in the Canary Islands.

Distances travelled ranged from 30 to 130 km between islands, demonstrating that the species is highly mobile

within the archipelago. These results have important implications for the conservation and management of this

species in this region and highlight the need to evaluate the efficiency of existing SACs and to further explore

residency patterns.

For any questions or to request a PDF copy of this paper, please feel free 

to email me at: marta_mtm@hotmail.com

Best,

Marta Tobeña