Publication Details
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Using salinity to identify common bottlenose dolphin habitat in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA
Author(s): Hornsby, F.E.; T.L. McDonald; B.C. Balmer; T.R. Speakman; K.D. Mullin; P.E. Rosel; R.S. Wells; A.C. Telander; P.W. Marcy; K.D. Klaphake; L.H. Schwacke
NCCOS Center: HML
Publication Type: Journal Article
Journal Title: Endangered Species Research
Date of Publication: 2017
Reference Information: 33
181-192
Keywords: Tursiops truncatus; habitat; Deepwater Horizon; Barataria Bay; telemetry; salinity; photo-ID
Abstract: Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, numerous studies took place to determine impacts to common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Common bottlenose dolphins are found in estuarine environments of the northern Gulf of Mexico which vary in salinity depending on location (distance to freshwater source), season, and ocean tides. Although common bottlenose dolphins can be found in low salinity waters (e.g., less than 10-15 parts per thousand), they cannot tolerate very low salinity for long periods of time. We matched dolphin telemetry data in Barataria Bay with contemporaneous estimates of salinity to establish a salinity threshold and identify preferred dolphin habitat. Dolphins frequently used areas where salinity was higher than ~11 ppt, sometimes used areas for short periods of time with predicted salinity ~8 ppt, and avoided waters with salinities below ~5 ppt. While not a hard boundary, the ~8 ppt threshold can be used to delineate reasonable polygons of preferred dolphin habitat. We temporally average the location of the ~8 ppt isohaline from 2005 through 2012 to establish areas of preferred dolphin habitat. In Barataria Bay, the polygon of dolphin habitat encompasses 1,167 square kilometers, and extends from the bay’s barrier islands to approximately half-way through marshes in northern parts of the bay.
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