{"id":47952,"date":"2019-12-27T18:43:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T19:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/?p=47952"},"modified":"2020-02-11T15:44:48","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T16:44:48","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-dolphins-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-dolphins-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about dolphins – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How long do dolphins live?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the wild most dolphins can live for a long time. Orcas may live for 70 years or more. Bottlenose dolphins can live for at least 40 years. In contrast, dolphins that are kept in captivity die much earlier than those living in the wild. For example bottlenose dolphins in average live until 20 years old in captivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For calculating dolphins\u2019 age we have to pay attention to their teeth. Unlike humans, who lose their baby teeth, a dolphin will keep the full set of teeth it was born with for its entire life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And also unlike human teeth, dolphin teeth grow larger by producing growth layers in the root. These layers are visible and distinct for each year of a dolphin\u2019s life. Scientists are then able to determine how old a dolphin is by cutting the tooth in half and counting the growth layers that they see,   just as the rings of a tree. So, these layers are a very reliable way of  telling the age of most dolphin species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"
A good section of a bottlenose dolphin tooth. This tooth is from a male known to be 3.2-3.8 years old (Hohn A. et al, 1989).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A dolphin trying to bite another dolphin\u2019s tail.\n This picture was taken from one of our catamarans (by Carine Zimmerman) and we can observe in detail the teeth.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How much do dolphins weight and measure?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dolphins vary greatly in size, with their length ranging from 1,2 to 9 meters (4 to 30 feet) and their weight ranging from 39 kg to 10 ton (88 lbs. up to 22000 pounds). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest member of the dolphin families are usually referred to as whales such as orcas, false killer whales and pilot whales. The world\u2019s smallest dolphins, commonly called Hector\u2019s dolphins, include a subspecies called Maui\u2019s dolphin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Size
Size comparison among some species of dolphins ( National Geographic)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Some smaller species of dolphin can be found traveling in and around coastal waters where they are less likely to face threats from potential predators, while larger dolphins may venture out further into the offshore ocean far from coastal waters (Srinivasan & Markowitz, 2010). But size does not always have a direct influence on where dolphins can be found living throughout the world, for example striped dolphins here in the Azores can be found offshore, and they are around 2m in length. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to staying near coastal environments, small dolphins are also known to travel in large groups in order to protect themselves from predators. Predators for the dolphin species may include orcas and sharks (Srinivasan & Markowitz, 2010).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some sizes and weights examples of dolphins (Wikipedia):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n1\n<\/td>\n\nCommon Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)<\/em>\n<\/td>\n\n1,7\u20132,4 m\n<\/td>\n\n70\u2013110 kg\n<\/td><\/tr>
\n\n2\n<\/td>\n\nStriped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)<\/em>\n<\/td>\n\n1,8\u20132,5 m\n<\/td>\n\n90\u2013150 kg\n<\/td><\/tr>
\n\n3\n<\/td>\n\nBottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)<\/em>\n<\/td>\n\n1,9\u20133,9 m\n<\/td>\n\n150\u2013650 kg\n<\/td><\/tr>
\n\n4\n<\/td>\n\nLong-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas)<\/em>\n<\/td>\n\n3,8\u20136 m\n<\/td>\n\n1,8\u20133,5 t\n<\/td><\/tr>
\n\n5\n<\/td>\n\nOrca, Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)<\/em>\n<\/td>\n\n5,5\u20139,8 m\n<\/td>\n\n2,6\u20139 t<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the Azores sometimes in the same trip we can see two species of dolphins at the same time, for example we can be with a huge group of Atlantic spotted dolphins and suddenly a few bottlenose appear interacting within the pod. Then we realise the incredible difference between this two species!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do Dolphins eat?\u00a0\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All dolphins are carnivores, eating fish and squid. Some dolphins eat crustaceans such as lobsters, shrimp, and crabs while some eat octopus and cuttlefish.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different species of dolphins focus on different foods and they have a variety of hunting styles. Sometimes we see  schools of fish from our boats and we can see \u201cin situ\u201d the typical images of a documentary, the feeding moment!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dolphins
Dolphins drive small schooling fish, like mackerel, close to the surface in tight bait-balls. (Ida Eriksson, Futurismo)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A dolphin has a three chambered stomach, similar to an ungulate (cow or deer). The mastication of their meal is taken care of in their first or also referred to as the fore stomach. Then, the majority of digestion is processed in the main stomach, or second chamber. And finally, the last section of their stomach, the pyloric stomach, takes care of the remainder of their digestion prior to the contents emptying into the intestinal region.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sagittal
Sagittal section of a dolphins stomach ( Perkopf, 1937)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And how they find the prey?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dolphins use echolocation, which is a process that permits dolphins to send out sound waves that when they hit an object or a prey, they bounce back, allowing them to identify the location, shape, speed and size of such an object. Even they can tell the texture!!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount of time it takes for the sound waves to come back helps them to determine the distance, as it takes longer the sound waves to return when there is more distance between the dolphin and that given prey.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Echolocation
Echolocation of male indo-pacific bottlenose dolphin (Zainuddin, 2016)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Discover more amazing facts on our first dolphins facts post<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Mar\u00eda Huam\u00e1n Ben\u00edtez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIBLIOGRAPHY\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Azevedo, Alexandre & Flach, Leonardo & Bisi, Tatiana & Andrade, Luciana & Dorneles, Paulo & Lailson Brito, Jose. (2010). Whistles emitted by Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in Southeastern Brazil. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 127. 2646-51. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruno Cozzi, Stefan Huggenberger, Helmut Oelschl\u00e4ger (2017). Diving: Breathing, Respiration, and the Circulatory System. Anatomy of Dolphins, 91-131. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cotten PB, Piscitelli MA, McLellan WA, Rommel SA, Dearolf JL, Pabst DA. (2008) The gross morphology and histochemistry of respiratory muscles in bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. J Morphol. 269(12):1520\u20131538. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

D. Weihs (2002) Dynamics of Dolphin Porpoising Revisited, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 42, Issue 5,Pages 1071\u20131078. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hastie, G. D., Wilson, B. , Tufft, L. H. and Thompson, P. M. (2003), Bottlenose Dolphins increase breathing synchrony in response to boat traffic. marine mammal science, 19: 74-084. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hohn, A. A., Scott, M. D., Wells, R. S., Sweeney, J. C. and Irvine, A. B. (1989), Growth layers in teeth from known\u2010age, free\u2010ranging bottlenose dolphins. Marine Mammal Science, 5: 315-342. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Klinowska, M. 1991. Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN – The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland. 429 pp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mukhametov LM, Oleksenko AI, Polyakova (1988) IG. Quantification of ECoG stages of sleep in the bottlenose dolphin. Neurophysiology.20:398\u2013403. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oleksenko AI, Mukhametov LM, Polyakova IG, Supin AY, Kovalzon VM.(1992) Unihemispheric sleep deprivation in bottlenose dolphins. J Sleep Res.1:40\u20134. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orbach, Dara & Rattan, Shruti & Hogan, M. & Crosby, Alfred & Brennan, Patricia. (2019). Biomechanical Properties of Female Dolphin Reproductive Tissue. Acta Biomaterialia. 86. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ponganis, P. J., Kooyman, G. L. and Ridgway, S. H. (2003). Comparative diving physiology. In Bennett and Elliott\u2019s Physiology and Medicine of Diving (ed. A. Brubakk and T. S. Neuman), pp. 211-226. Edinburgh: Saunders Ltd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ridgway SH, Carlin KP, Van Alstyne KR, Hanson AC, Tarpley RJ. Comparison of Dolphins’ body and brain measurements with four other groups of cetaceans reveals great diversity [published correction appears in Brain Behav Evol. 2017;90(3):264]. Brain Behav Evol. 2016;88(3-4):235\u2013257. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott, Erin & Mann, Janet & Watson-Capps, Jana & Sargeant, Brooke & Connor, Richard. (2005). Aggression in bottlenose dolphins: Evidence for sexual coercion, male-male competition, and female tolerance through analysis of tooth-rake marks and behaviour. Behaviour. 142. 21-44. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Srinivasan, Mridula & Markowitz, Tim. (2010). Dusky Dolphins: Master Acrobats off Different Shores Predator Threats and Dusky Dolphin Survival Strategies. Weihs, Daniel. (2002). Dynamics of Dolphin Porpoising Revisited. Integrative and comparative biology. 42. 1071-8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wells, R. 2000. Reproduction in wild bottlenose dolphins: Overview of patterns observed during a long-term study. Pages 57-74 in Bottlenose dolphins reproduction workshop.Silver Springs, AZ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wells, R. S., M. D. Scott and A. B. Irvine. (1987). The social structure of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins. Pages 247-305 in H. Genoways, ed. Current Mammalogy. Plenum Press, New York, NY. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wells, R. S., and M. D. Scott. (1999). Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821). Pages 137 -182 in S. H. Ridgway and R. J. Harrison, eds. Handbook of marine mammals: The second book of dolphins and porpoises. Academic Press, New York Academic Press, New York, NY. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

West KL, Oftedal OT, Carpenter JR, Krames BJ, Campbell M, Sweeney JC. (1987)Effect of lactation stage and concurrent pregnancy on milk composition in the bottlenose dolphin. J Zool 273(2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zainuddin Lubis, Muhammad. (2016). Behaviour and echolocation of male indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins. 10.13140\/RG.2.1.4603.7520. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEBIOGRAPHY <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/us.whales.org\/whales-dolphins\/how-do-whales-and-dolphins-breathe\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/dolphin4life.weebly.com\/repiration.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/baleinesendirect.org\/en\/since-whales-and-ungulates-share-a-common-ancestor-are-the-former-able-to-ruminate\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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