Research

Dolphin Behavior Correlation with SST

Dolphin Behavior Correlation with Sea Surface Temperature
Team: Tiffany J. Fogg and DeQuincy Faulcon
Mentor Kevin Foss

Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean and Marine Science
Elizabeth City State University (CERSER Lab)
1704 Weeksville Rd.
Elizabeth City, NC 27909

ABSTRACT

The Tursiops truncatus or bottlenosed dolphins can be migratory or resident with some animals passing through and others remaining for the duration of the summer. Along the Mid-Atlantic coast there are four different stocks that may be observed: the residential populations, the off-shore populations, the on-shore populations and the north migratory stock. The Virginia population is estimated at several hundred area-wide. In 1987 and 1988 there was an estimated decrease of 50% in the population because the Tursiops were subjected to biomagnification of toxin. While conducting research on the Tursiops, special attention was given to the Elizabeth River where the species socially interacted in this unique habitat. The Elizabeth River is a shallow low tidal area with a developed shoreline for the majority of the river, sand beaches and salt marshes. Sediments from ship repairs since colonial era have settled in the southern branch of the river and tend to linger in the habitat.

Because the species are at the top of the trophic level and are migratory we hypothesize that there is a strong correlation between the dolphin behavior and sea surface temperature. The distribution of migratory Tursiops truncatus along Mid-Atlantic Bight as correlated to sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a was determined using remotely sensed data from using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer and Seaviewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor. It is suggested that the presence of the species can be correlated to the sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a levels as Tursiops migratory location may be is dependent on these variables. Sightings of the Tursiops, when compared with the remotely sensed data imply a correlation between the sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a and the movement of the species.