Bottlenose dolphin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bottlenose dolphin |
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| Bottlenose Dolphin breaching in the bow wave of a boat | |
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Tursiops
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T. truncatus
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| Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821
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| Bottlenose Dolphin range (in blue) | |
A bottlenose dolphin is a kind of dolphin that gets its name because its snout is shaped like a bottle. Its real nose for breathing is just a hole on top of its head. Bottlenose dolphins are quite intelligent. They are skilled and accurate hunters that eat mostly small-sized fish.
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Description
Bottlenose dolphins are various shades of gray, with the darkest gray at the top and almost white shades at the underside. This countershading makes them hard to see while they are swimming both from above and below. Adults can range from 6.6 to 13.1 feet (2.0 to 4.0 m) and 330 to 1,430 pounds (150 to 650 kg). Males are usually larger than females. Except in the eastern Pacific, dolphins in warmer, shallower waters tend to be smaller than those in cooler, pelagic (open) waters.
Bottlenose dolphins can live for more than 40 years. Females typically live 5 to 10 years longer than males. Less than 2% of all bottlenose dolphins will live longer than 60 years. Bottlenose dolphins can jump up to 20 feet (6.1 m) in the air. They use these jumps to communicate with each other.
Anatomy
The bottlenose dolphin's long upper and lower jaws form what is called a rostrum, or snout. They have 18 to 28 cone-shaped teeth on each side of the jaws. The real, functional nose is a blowhole on top of its head, almost centered between the eyes. The nasal septum is visible when the blowhole is open.
The dorsal fin and flukes (lobes of the tail) do not contain bone or muscle. They are formed of dense connective tissue. The flukes push the dolphin forward when it moves them up and down. The pectoral flippers (at the sides of the body) are used for steering.
Physiology and Senses
In colder waters, bottlenose dolphins have more body fat and blood, which helps them to dive more deeply than those that live in warmer waters. Usually, 18%–20% of a cold water-dwelling bottlenose dolphin's body weight is blubber. Most research in this area has been restricted to the North Atlantic Ocean. Bottlenose dolphins typically swim at 3 to 7 miles per hour (4.8 to 11.3 km/h). They are also able to swim in short bursts of speed ranging from 18 to 22 miles per hour (29 to 35 km/h).
Senses
Bottlenose dolphins use a form of sonar called echolocation to search for their food. They send out a burst pulse of clicking sounds in a focused beam and listen for the echo, which tells the dolphin the size, shape, speed, distance, and location of objects in the water.
Bottlenose dolphins have sharp eyesight. The eyes are located at the sides of the head and have a reflecting membrane, called a tapetum lucidum, at the back of the retina. This helps them to see well in dim light. Their horseshoe-shaped, double-slit pupils help the dolphins to have good vision both in the air and underwater.
Since bottlenose dolphins have no olfactory (smelling) nerves or lobes in the brain and because they have a blowhole that closes when it is underwater, they have a poor sense of smell.
Researchers believe that bottlenose dolphins are able to taste salty, sweet, bitter (quinine sulphate), and sour (citric acid) flavors. Some dolphins in captivity have been known to have preferences for fish types. However, not enough research has been done to show whether the fish is preferred because of taste or some other reason.
Communication
Bottlenose dolphins communicate through burst pulsed sounds, whistles, and body language. Their body language can include leaping out of the water, snapping their jaws, slapping their tail on the surface, and butting heads. Sounds and gestures help keep track of other dolphins in the group and tell other dolphins of danger and nearby food. Because bottlenose dolphins do not have vocal cords, they produce sounds using six air sacs near their blowhole. Each dolphin has its unique whistle (signature whistle). Researchers from the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI), based in Sardinia, Italy, have now shown that whistles and burst pulsed sounds are important for dolphins.
The tonal whistle sounds (the most musical ones) allow dolphins to stay in contact with each other and coordinate hunting strategies. The burst-pulsed sounds, which are more complex and varied than the whistles, are used when there is a possible confrontation. Each dolphin produces these sounds, and the least dominant dolphins move away.
Intelligence
Cognition
Since the 1970s, scientists have been studying the bottlenose dolphins' cognitive abilities (the ability to think). This research includes the dolphins' ability to copy sounds and behaviors, understand the order of occurrences, understand artificial language, remember things, monitor self-behavior, identify likenesses and differences, show knowledge of symbols for various body parts, understand pointing gestures and gazing (as made by dolphins or humans), recognize themselves in a mirror, and show recognition of numbers.
Tool Use and Culture
At least some wild bottlenose dolphins use tools. In Shark Bay, dolphins have been seen placing a marine sponge on their rostrum, probably to protect it when the dolphin searches for food on the sandy sea bottom. In 2005, a study was done that showed that mothers were most likely to teach this behavior to their offspring.
Near Adelaide, in South Australia, three bottlenose dolphins can tail walk. They lift the upper part of their bodies vertically out of the water and push themselves along the surface with powerful tail movements. In the 1980s, a female from the local population was kept at a local dolphinarium for three weeks, and the scientist suggests she copied the tail-walking behavior of other dolphins that had been taught by human training. Two other wild adult female dolphins have now copied it from her.
A study conducted by the University of Chicago showed that bottlenose dolphins can remember the whistles of other dolphins they had lived with after 20 years of separation. Each dolphin has a unique whistle that acts as a name, allowing them to keep close social bonds.
Life History
Respiration and Sleep
The bottlenose dolphin has a single blowhole on the top of its head consisting of a hole and a muscular flap. The flap is closed during muscle relaxation and opens during contraction (tightening of the muscles). Dolphins are voluntary breathers, which means that they have to choose to go to the surface and open their blowholes to get air. Usually, dolphins surface two to three times per minute, but a dolphin can stay underwater for up to 20 minutes.
Dolphins sleep differently than humans. Dolphins have a sleep cycle that lasts for about 8 hours total, in sections of minutes to hours. During the sleep cycle, they remain near the surface, and half of their brain (the part that controls surfacing and breathing) remains active. They swim slowly (called logging) and occasionally close one eye.
Reproduction
During the breeding season, males work hard to be able to mate with females. They could fight other males, herd females (to keep them from other males), or even work together in male reproductive alliances (teams) to control the females.
Mating occurs belly to belly. The gestation period averages 12 months. Births can happen at any time of year, but more births happen during warmer months. Twins are rare; usually only a single calf is born in shallow water and sometimes with the help of another dolphin.
Newborn bottlenose dolphins are 2.6 to 4.6 ft (0.79 to 1.40 m) long and weigh 20 to 66 lb (9.1 to 29.9 kg). Calves born in the Indo-Pacific are usually smaller than common bottlenose dolphin infants. The mother can send out milk from her mammary glands to help her calf start nursing sooner. The calf suckles for 18 months to up to 8 years, and continues to stay close to its mother for several years after weaning. Females are ready to become mothers between the ages of 5 and 13; males are ready to become fathers between the ages of 9 and 14. Females reproduce every two to six years.
Social Interaction
Adult males live mostly alone or in groups of two to three, and join pods for short periods of time. Adult females and young dolphins normally live in groups of up to 15. This group size, and even the members within the group change from time to time, often on a daily or hourly basis. Smaller groups can join to form larger groups of 100 or more and occasionally exceed 1,000. The way they live can be compared to the way elephants and chimpanzees live.
Ecology
Feeding
A dolphin's diet consists mainly of small fish, crustaceans, and squid. Although this differs by location, many populations share an appetite for fish from the mullet family, the tuna and mackerel families, and the drum and croaker families. The bottlenose dolphin's cone-like teeth serve to grasp but do not chew food.
Here is a list of the different ways that dolphins hunt:
- When some dolphins find a shoal of fish, they work as a team to herd them toward the shore so that they can catch more fish for one meal.
- Other dolphins hunt alone, often targeting bottom-dwelling animals.
- Sometimes a dolphin will hit a fish with its fluke, knocking it out of the water. This strategy is called "fish whacking."
- "Strand feeding" is an inherited feeding method used by bottlenose dolphins near and around coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina. When a pod (group) finds a school of fish, they will circle the school and trap the fish in a mini whirlpool. Then, the dolphins will charge at the school and push their bodies up onto a mudflat, forcing the fish on the mudflat as well. The dolphins then crawl around on their sides, eating the fish they washed up on shore. Finally, they flip their bodies back into the water.
- Mud plume feeding, seen in the Florida Keys, is a method that some dolphins use to confuse fish. They create a U-shaped mud ring into which the fish swim. When the fish are disoriented, the dolphins swim in and eat the fish.
- In some Mediterranean areas, bottlenose dolphins use human fisheries. They go to the nets because they know that many fish are located there.
Relations with Other Species
Dolphins can show kind behavior toward other sea creatures. On Mahia Beach, New Zealand, on March 10, 2008, two pygmy sperm whales, a female and calf, were stranded on the beach. Rescuers, including Department of Conservation officer Malcolm Smith, attempted to help them four times. Soon, a playful bottlenose dolphin known to residents as Moko arrived and, after apparently vocalizing to the whales, led them 660 ft (200 m) along a sandbar to the open sea, saving them from certain death.
Bottlenose dolphins can also behave aggressively (intending to harm) toward sharks and smaller dolphin species. At least one population, off Scotland, has attacked and killed harbor porpoises. Some researchers believe that dolphins do not always eat their victims but compete for food to show their power.
The bottlenose dolphin sometimes forms mixed-species groups with other species from the dolphin family, particularly larger species, such as the short-finned pilot whale, the false killer whale, and Risso's dolphin. They also interact with smaller species, such as the Atlantic spotted dolphin and the rough-toothed dolphin.
Predators
Some large shark species, such as the tiger shark, the dusky shark, the great white shark, and the bull shark, prey on the bottlenose dolphin, especially calves. Swimming in pods allows dolphins to better defend themselves against predators. Bottlenose dolphins either use complicated evasive maneuvers to out-swim their predators or mobbing techniques to either batter the predator to death or force it to flee. Killer whale populations in New Zealand and Peru have been seen preying on bottlenose dolphins, but this seems rare, and other orcas may swim with dolphins.
Relation to Humans
Interaction
Bottlenose dolphins sometimes show curiosity toward humans in or near water. Sometimes they rescue injured divers by raising them to the surface. They also do this to help injured members of their own species. In November 2004, it was reported that dolphins worked together to help four lifeguards in New Zealand. The lifeguards were swimming 330 ft (100 m) off the coast near Whangarei and were approached by a shark (reportedly a great white shark). Bottlenose dolphins herded the swimmers together and surrounded them for 40 minutes, preventing the shark from attacking, as they slowly swam to shore.
When dolphins swim near the shore, they run the risk of colliding with boats. Researchers at the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute studied the behavior of bottlenose dolphins' diving behavior when boats were both present and absent. Dolphins responded more to tourist boats than fishing boats.
Dolphins can also coexist with humans. For example, in the town of Laguna in south Brazil, a pod of bottlenose dolphins lives near the shore, and some of its members cooperate with humans. The fishermen recognized and have named some of the dolphins who cooperate with them. The dolphins help the fishermen by displaying a unique body movement, like slapping its tail on the water, to show the fishermen when the fish are coming. The fishermen cast their nets and catch more fish than without the help of the dolphins. The dolphins are not trained to do this; the collaboration began before 1847. Mauritania, Africa, has similar cooperative fisheries.
Commercial "dolphin encounter" businesses and tours operate in many countries. The documentary film The Cove shows how dolphins are captured and sold to some of these companies (particularly in Asia) while the remaining pod is slaughtered. Animal welfare activists and certain scientists have claimed that the dolphins do not have enough space or receive good care or stimulation. However, others, like SeaWorld (backed by different scientists), show that dolphins are properly cared for, have lots of environmental stimulation, and enjoy interacting with humans.
The military of the United States and Russia train bottlenose dolphins as military dolphins for wartime tasks. The jobs of the dolphins include locating sea mines and detecting enemy divers. The program in the United States, called the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, is located in San Diego.
Cultural Influence
The popular television show Flipper, created by Ivan Tors, portrayed a bottlenose dolphin in a friendly relationship with two boys, Sandy and Bud. A seagoing Lassie, Flipper understood English and was a hero: "Go tell Dad we're in trouble, Flipper! Hurry!" Two more TV shows have been made since then.
Other television and movie appearances by bottlenose dolphins include Wonder Woman, Highway to Heaven, Dolphin Cove, seaQuest DSV, The Penguins of Madagascar, Zeus and Roxanne, Bermuda Triangle, Dolphin Tale, and Dolphin Tale 2. Many human and dolphin interaction segments are shot on location in the Florida Keys with Dolphin Research Center.
Bottlenose dolphins have also appeared in novels. In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and one of its sequels, So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish, the dolphins try to warn humans of Earth's impending destruction, but their behavior was misinterpreted as playful acrobatics. Bottlenose dolphins are main characters in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, especially The Dolphins of Pern. Bottlenose dolphins are included in the science fiction video game series Ecco the Dolphin. Delphineus, a dolphin, is a character in the video game EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus. He helps the boy, Adam, to find the sea king Cetus (a sperm whale) and clean up the underwater environment where he lives. Bottlenose dolphins were mentioned in various Star Trek novels and other materials. Their job was to serve as navigation specialists onboard various Federation starships.
T.D., the Miami Dolphins' mascot, uses the bottlenose dolphin as its mascot and team logo.
The writings of Aristotle, Oppian, and Pliny the Elder all mention facts about bottlenose dolphins.
Threats
Bottlenose dolphins are still captured or killed in dolphin drive hunts for their meat, to eliminate competition for fish, and for capture for marine parks. Bottlenose dolphins (and several other dolphin species) often travel with tuna and can get caught in tuna nets, which can kill the dolphins. Because people were concerned about the safety of the dolphins, many stopped buying tuna. This is called a boycott. These boycotts led to the idea of "dolphin-safe" labeling for fishing practices that do not endanger dolphins.
The man-made chemical perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) may be harming the immune system of bottlenose dolphins. A recent study found high levels of cadmium and mercury in bottlenose dolphins from South Australia. These levels were later shown to be associated with kidneys that were not formed correctly, showing that higher heavy-metal concentrations can be bad for a dolphin's health.
Conservation
Bottlenose dolphins are not endangered. However, specific populations are threatened due to various environmental changes. The population in the Moray Firth in Scotland is estimated to consist of about 190 dolphins that are under threat from harassment, traumatic injury, water pollution, and less food. Likewise, an isolated population in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand, is in decline due to calf loss because of an increase in warm freshwater flow into the fjord. One of the largest coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia, was forecast to be stable with little change in deaths over time.
Images for kids
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The fossil species Tursiops osennae
See also
In Spanish: Tursiops para niños
