Bottlenose+Dolphin

=Atlantic **Bottlenose Dolphin**= Tursiops Truncatus Contributed by Maria 8

Bottlenose dolphins are extremely intellegent animals and are the most well known dolphin species. It inhabits warm and temperate seas worldwide __and may be found in all but Arctic and Antarctic__ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottlenose_dolphin

SIZE: Bottlenose dolphins measured off Sarasota, Florida averaged 2.5 to 2.7 m (8.2-8.9 ft.) and weighed between 419 to 573 lb. Differences in body size and skull dimensions may be related to habitat differences. The two northwestern Atlantic ecotypes exhibit a pronounced size variance. Large bottlenose dolphins in the Pacific may be 12 ft and weigh 1000 lb. In the Mediterranean, bottlenose grow to 12 ft or more. On average, full-grown males are slightly longer than females, and considerably heavier. As youth, however, females grow at a faster rate until about 10 years of age. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/phychardol.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottlenose_dolphins

DIET: Dolphins are active predators and eat a wide variety of fish, squids, and crustaceans such as shrimp. The foods available to a dolphin vary with its geographic location. Adult bottlenose dolphins eat approximately 4% to 5% of their body weight in food per day. A nursing mother's daily intake is considerably higher, about 8%. Feeding behavior is flexible and adapted to a dolphin's particular habitat and available food resources. Dolphins do not chew their food. Usually they swallow fish whole, head first, so the spines of the fish won't catch in their throats. They break larger fish by shaking them or rubbing them on the ocean floor. Hunting strategies are varied and diverse. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/dietdol.html

POPULATION: The worldwide population of bottlenose dolphins is unknown. Specific bottlenose dolphin populations in a few areas have been estimated. In the United States Gulf of Mexico, their numbers are estimated to be at least 67,000. The populations found in the western North Pacific and along Japanese coasts are estimated at about 35,000. In U.S. waters of the western North Atlantic, the bottlenose population is estimated at about 11,700. Of course, at least 9,200 are offshore animals. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/habdisdol.html

LIFESPAN: Census data from the Sarasota, Florida population suggest that a bottlenose dolphin's average life span is probably 20 years or less. Bottlenose dolphins have lived as long as 48 years. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/deathdol.html

HABITAT: Bottlenose dolphins inhabit the pelagic zone as well as harbors, bays, lagoons, gulfs, and estuaries. Variations in water temperature, migration of food fish, and feeding habits may account for the seasonal movements of some dolphins to and from certain areas. Some coastal dolphins in higher latitudes show a clear tendency toward seasonal migrations, traveling further south in the winter. Those in warmer waters show less extensive, localized seasonal movements. Some coastal animals stay within a limited home range (an area in which individuals or groups regularly move about during day-to-day activities). Home ranges may overlap. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/habdisdol.html

RANGE: In the Atlantic Ocean, bottlenose dolphins are found from Nova Scotia and Norway to Patagonia and the tip of South Africa. They are the most abundant dolphin species along the United States from Cape Cod through the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/habdisdol.html



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cetacea_range_map_Bottlenose_Dolphin.PNG

OFFSPRING: Bottlenose dolphins may breed throughout the year. However, certain breeding seasons have been observed and vary with location. Breeding seasons generally coincide with calving seasons. Bottlenose dolphins along the west coast of Florida show a calving peak in May. Most dolphin births along coastal Texas waters occur in March. Peak calving appears to be bimodal for dolphins in Florida's Indian River Lagoon; most births occur in April and August. A female dolphin caon potentially bear a calf every two years, but calving intervals generally average three years.

Calves nurse under water, close to the surface. The calf suckles from nipples concealed in abdominal mammary slits.c. Observations in zoological parks show that nursing usually begins within six hours of birth. A calf nurses as often as four times per hour for the first four to eight days. Each nursing instance usually lasts only about five to ten seconds. A calf nurses three to eight times per hour throughout the day and night. A calf may nurse for up to 18 months. A mother dolphin stays close to her calf and attentively directs its movements. The baby swims close to its mother and is carried in the mother's "slip stream," the hydrodynamic wake that develops as the mother swims. This helps the baby to swim and enables the mother and calf to stay up with the group.

http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/birthdol.html#seasons

INTERESTING FACTS: http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Bottlenose/sensesdol.html
 * Dolphins probably rely on sound production and reception to navigate, communicate, and hunt in dark or murky waters. Under these conditions, sight is of little use.
 * Dolpins have a well-developed, acute sense of hearing.
 * Dolphins have acute vision both in and out of the water. A dolphin's eye is particularly adapted for seeing in water.
 * Anatomical studies and observations of behavior indicate that a bottlenose dolphin's sense of touch is well developed. A bottlenose dolphin's skin appears to be sensitive to a broad range of tactile sensations
 * Little is known about a dolphin's sense of taste. Features of the brain and cranial nerves suggest they may have some sort of a taste sensation.
 * Olfactory lobes of the brain and olfactory nerves are absent in all toothed whales, indicating that they have have a limited sense of smell.

MORE LINKS: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bottlenose+dolphins&btnG=Google+Search http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOPOgJfddsE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TexmIQbgmsw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ocam4tbM8&mode=related&search= http://fohn.net/dolphin-pictures-facts/