Dear MARMAM community,

On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share our new publication on acoustics and surface behavior of common bottlenose dolphins in presence of low and high vessel traffic off the Southern Gulf of Mexico:

Morales-Rincon N., Morteo E, Castelblanco–Martínez N., Pérez–España H., Bello–Pineda J., Delfín-Alfonso C.A., Bazúa–Durán C. 2025 Acoustic and behavioral strategies of dolphins competing with artisanal fisheries in the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 35:e70103. ISSN:1099-0755. doi:10.1002/aqc.70103 

Abstract: 
Behavioural and acoustic plasticity allow cetaceans to exploit a variety of habitats developing strategies to overcome increasingly demanding anthropogenic pressures. Bottlenose dolphins are known to compete with artisanal fishing along the southwestern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, but the extent of marine traffic impacts on the species is unknown. We investigated dolphin behavioural dynamics through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and acoustic recordings in two zones off Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico, with high (HVP) and low-vessel presence (LVP). Within the HVP zone (at the mouth of a lagoon) known for its greater abundance of prey, dolphins focused their behavioural budget on feeding (mostly individually), with higher emission rates for echolocation trains. Conversely, at the LVP zone (located northwest and southeast of the lagoon mouth), groups were larger and their behavioural repertoire was more varied (dolphins travelled, fed, socialized and rested equally), emitting not only high emission rates for echolocation trains but also for whistles. Our findings suggest that dolphins have developed a zoning strategy through a compensatory mechanism that allows tolerance to a certain level of fishing activities and marine traffic, especially within their feeding areas, by reducing group size to individual interactions, while prioritizing certain surface and acoustic behaviour when in the presence of vessels. By using this trade-off strategy, dolphins may remain at the site and continue taking advantage of the resources, at the expense of potential long-term effects, which remain to be investigated.

You may find the article at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.70103

Please e-mail me if you have any questions (eduardo.morteo@gmail.com); also, please feel free to check our other contributions at:

http://www.uv.mx/personal/emorteo/publicaciones/ 

Kind regards,

Dr. Eduardo Morteo

Director

Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas
Universidad Veracruzana

Calle Dr. Castelazo Ayala S/N, Col. Industrial Ánimas
CP 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, México.

Ph/Tel: +52 (228) 841 89 00 
E-mail: emorteo@uv.mx

http://www.uv.mx/personal/emorteo/

http://uv-mx.academia.edu/EMorteo
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eduardo_Morteo/?ev=hdr_xprf

http://scholar.google.com.mx/citations?user=fDUl-IIAAAAJ