This article is a contribution to the special issue on “Individual Identification and Photographic Techniques in Mammalian Ecological and Behavioural Research – Part 2: Field Studies and
Information on movements and connectivity among populations of animals
is important for the delineation of units to conserve, so that
demographic parameters, such as abundance, fecundity and mortality, can
be placed in an appropriate population and conservation context. Common
bottlenose dolphins (
Tursiops truncatus) are often considered
relatively ‘resident’ and demonstrating strong site fidelity to specific
areas. However, this perception may partly be an artefact of the
distribution and ‘habitat use’ of cetacean researchers, rather than
animals themselves, and bottlenose dolphins have been shown to be
capable of substantial movements, often in relatively short periods of
time. Here, we report on two long-distance movements of a common
bottlenose dolphin within the Mediterranean Sea, across the Tyrrhenian,
Ionian and Adriatic Seas, and subsequently back across all three seas to
Ligurian Sea, making these the two longest recorded movement for this
species in the Mediterranean Sea to date and some of the longest in the
world. We also review published records of long-distance movements in
this species worldwide. This study highlights the utility of
photo-identification and the importance of regional data sharing. We
argue that photo-identification comparisons are always worthwhile and
the results are informative regardless of the presence or absence of
matches, especially with the ongoing advances in automated matching
software.
