THE DIETS OF MODERN AND HISTORIC BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN POPULATIONS REFLECTED THROUGH STABLE ISOTOPES

The δ13C and δ15N compositions of teeth used in combination with existing data provide dietary information for different populations of western North Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The dental isotopic signatures of bottlenose dolphins collected during the 1980s significantly differ for coastal and offshore ecotypes and are consistent with reports that coastal forms feed primarily on fish whereas offshore individuals consume more squid. In a second study, the isotopic compositions of teeth from bottlenose dolphins that span a 100-yr period and data from published stomach content analyses as well as field observations made during the past 100 yr provide evidence that coastal bottlenose dolphins from the 1880s, 1920s, and 1980s had similar diets.

[1]  S. Macko,et al.  DIETARY STUDIES OF MARINE MAMMALS USING STABLE CARBON AND NITROGEN ISOTOPIC RATIOS OF TEETH , 1999 .

[2]  J. Hobbie,et al.  THE STABLE NITROGEN ISOTOPE RATIO AS A MARKER OF FOOD‐WEB INTERACTIONS AND FISH MIGRATION , 1997 .

[3]  K. Hobson,et al.  Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic fractionation between diet and tissues of captive seals: implications for dietary reconstructions involving marine mammals , 1996 .

[4]  K. Hobson,et al.  Distinguishing between populations of fresh- and salt-water harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) using stable-isotope ratios and fatty acid profiles , 1996 .

[5]  Tim D. Smith,et al.  Differences in ratios of stable isotopes of nitrogen in long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) in the western and eastern North Atlantic , 1995 .

[6]  S. Macko,et al.  Assessment of trophic structure of Cretaceous communities based on stable nitrogen isotope analyses , 1993 .

[7]  S. Macko,et al.  Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans , 1993 .

[8]  P. E. Hare,et al.  The isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen in individual amino acids isolated from modern and fossil proteins , 1991 .

[9]  D. Schell,et al.  Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) growth and feeding as estimated by δ13C techniques , 1989 .

[10]  D. D. Marais,et al.  Latitudinal variations in plankton δ13C: implications for CO2 and productivity in past oceans , 1989, Nature.

[11]  S. Weiner,et al.  Organic matter within crystalline aggregates of hydroxyapatite: A new substrate for stable isotopic and possibly other biogeochemical analyses of bone , 1988 .

[12]  B. Fry.  Food web structure on Georges Bank from stable C, N, and S isotopic compositions , 1988 .

[13]  P. E. Hare,et al.  Variability in the preservation of the isotopic composition of collagen from fossil bone , 1988 .

[14]  Stephen A. Macko,et al.  Isotopic fractionation of nitrogen and carbon in the synthesis of amino acids by microorganisms , 1987 .

[15]  P. E. Hare,et al.  Effects of diagenesis on strontium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen concentration and isotopic composition of bone , 1986 .

[16]  M. Minagawa,et al.  Stepwise enrichment of 15N along food chains: Further evidence and the relation between δ15N and animal age , 1984 .

[17]  D. Rudnick,et al.  Isotopic variability of organic carbon in a phytoplankton-based, temperate estuary , 1984 .

[18]  M. J. Deniro,et al.  Nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of bone collagen from marine and terrestrial animals , 1984 .

[19]  S. Ridgway,et al.  Hematology distinguishes coastal and offshore forms of dolphins (Tursiops). , 1983 .

[20]  S. Macko,et al.  Nitrogen and carbon isotope fractionation by two species of marine amphipods: Laboratory and field studies , 1982 .

[21]  I. Kaplan,et al.  Characterisation of domestic and industrial sewage in Southern California coastal sediments using nitrogen, carbon, sulphur and uranium tracers☆ , 1980 .

[22]  W. Sackett,et al.  Fractionation of stable carbon isotopes by marine phytoplankton , 1978 .

[23]  M. J. Deniro,et al.  Influence of Diet On the Distribtion of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals , 1978 .

[24]  J. Mead.  Preliminary report on the former net fisheries for Tursiops truncatus in the western North Atlantic , 1975 .

[25]  M. Mercer.  Observations on Distribution and Intraspecific Variation in Pigmentation Patterns of Odontocete Cetacea in the Western North Atlantic , 1973 .

[26]  G. Shearer,et al.  Fertilizer Nitrogen: Contribution to Nitrate in Surface Water in a Corn Belt Watershed , 1971, Science.

[27]  M. Bender,et al.  Temperature Dependence of Carbon Isotope Composition in Marine Plankton and Sediments , 1965, Science.

[28]  F. True.  THE BOTTLE-NOSE DOLPHIN, TURSIOPS TURSIO, AS SEEN AT CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY. , 1885, Science.

[29]  M. Fogel,et al.  Isotope Fractionation during Primary Production , 1993 .

[30]  N. Barros.  16 – Food Habits of Bottlenose Dolphins in the Southeastern United States , 1990 .

[31]  Sandra L. Hersh.  6 – Distinction between Northwest Atlantic Offshore and Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins Based on Hemoglobin Profile and Morphometry , 1990 .

[32]  D. A. Russell,et al.  Geochemical characterization of high molecular weight material isolated from late cretaceous fossils , 1990 .

[33]  J. Mead,et al.  9 – Natural History of Bottlenose Dolphins Along the Central Atlantic Coast of the United States , 1989 .