Feeding habits of the Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea: Delphinidae), in Norte Bay, southern Brazil

Fábio G. Daura-Jorge; Leonardo L. Wedekin; Paulo C. Simões-Lopes

doi:10.3989/scimar.2011.75n1163

Authors

Fábio G. Daura-Jorge Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - Curso de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná
Leonardo L. Wedekin Curso de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná - Instituto Baleia Jubarte
Paulo C. Simões-Lopes Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2011.75n1163

Keywords:

diet, stomach contents, Guiana dolphin, prey availability, southern Brazil

Abstract

The stomach contents of 18 Guiana dolphins stranded or accidentally caught by fishing around Norte Bay of Santa Catarina Island between 1990 and 2006 were examined. The small population of Guiana dolphins studied showed a varied diet, and prey was caught disproportionately. The stomach contents of these dolphins consisted of 448 prey remains coming from 18 species and 10 families. Their diet primarily consisted of fish, but also shrimp and squid. The most important species were cutlass fish (Trichiurus lepturus) and white mouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri), which together comprised 75% of the total biomass. Although prey size ranged widely from 1.4 to 92.8 cm, a prevalence of prey smaller than 20 cm was observed. There was a predominance of prey living in moderate or large schools. The prey also had a wide vertical distribution in the water column. Our results support the opportunistic feeding habit of the Guiana dolphin, since its diverse diet was clearly guided by the availability and accessibility of resources in its habitat.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abilhôa, V. and M.F.M. Corrêa. – 1993. Catálogo de otólitos de Carangidae (Osteichthyes-Perciformes) do litoral do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Nerítica, 7: 119-131.

Alongi, D.S. – 1998. Coastal Ecosystem Processes. CRC Press, Florida.

Amir, O.A., P. Berggren, S.G.M. Ndaro and N.S. Jiddawi. – 2005. Feeding ecology of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) incidentally caught in the gillnet fisheries off Zanzibar, Tanzania. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 63: 429-437. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2004.12.006

Barros, N.B. and R.S. Wells. – 1998. Prey and feeding patterns of resident bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida. J. Mamml., 79: 1045-1059. doi:10.2307/1383114

Borobia, M. and N.B. Barros. – 1989. Notes on the diet of marine Sotalia fluviatilis. Mar. Mammal Sci., 5: 395-399. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.1989.tb00353.x

Borobia, M., S. Siciliano, L. Lodi and W. Hoek. – 1991. Distribution of the South American dolphin Sotalia fluviatilis. Can. J. Zool., 69: 1025-1039. doi:10.1139/z91-148

Cerutti, R.L. – 1996. Contribuição ao conhecimento da poluição doméstica na Baía Norte, área da Grande Florianópolis, SC. MSc. thesis. Univ. Santa Catarina.

Chaves, P. and J. Bouchereau. – 2000. Use of mangrove habitat for reproductive activity by the fish assemblage in the Guaratuba Bay, Brazil. Oceanol. Acta, 23: 273-279. doi:10.1016/S0399-1784(00)00130-4

Corrêa, M.F.M. and M.S. Vianna. – 1993. Catálogo de otólitos de Sciaenidae (Osteichthyes-perciformes) do litoral do Estado do Paraná. Nerítica, 7: 13-40.

Cremer, M. – 2007. Ecologia e conservação de populações simpátricas de pequenos cetáceos em ambiente estuarino no sul do Brasil. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Paraná.

Daura-Jorge, F.G., L.L. Wedekin, V.Q. Piacentini and P.C. Simões-Lopes. – 2005. Seasonal and daily patterns of group size, cohesion and activity of the estuarine dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (P.J. van Bénéden) (Cetacea, Delphinidae), in southern Brazil. Rev. Bras. Zool., 22: 1014-1021.

Daura-Jorge, F.G., M.R. Rossi-Santos, L.L. Wedekin and P.C. Simões-Lopes. – 2007. Behavioral patterns and movement intensity of Sotalia guianensis (P.J. van Bénéden) (Cetacea, Delphinidae) in two different areas on the Brazilian coast. Rev. Bras. Zool., 24: 265-270. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752007000200001

De Pierrepont, J.F., B. Dubois, S. Desormonts, M.B. Santos and J.P. Robin. – 2005. Stomach contents of English Channel cetaceans stranded on the coast of Normandy. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK, 85: 1539-1546. doi:10.1017/S0025315405012762

Di Beneditto, A.P.M., R.M.A. Ramos and N.R.W. Lima. – 2001. Os golfinhos: Origem, classificação, captura acidental e hábito alimentar. Cinco Continentes, Porto Alegre.

Di Beneditto, A.P.M. and S. Siciliano. – 2007. Stomach contents of the marine tucuxi dolphin from Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK, 87: 253-254. doi:10.1017/S0025315407053647

Elliot, M. and F. Dewailly. – 1995. The structure and components of European estuaries assemblages. Neth. J. Aqua. Ecol., 29: 397-417. doi:10.1007/BF02084239

Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes. – 1978. Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. II. Teleostei (1). Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes. – 1980. Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. III. Teleostei (2). Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Figueiredo, J.L. and N.A. Menezes. – 2000. Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. VI. Teleostei (5). Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Fitch, J.E. and R.L. Brownell. – 1968. Fish otoliths in Cetacean stomachs and their importance in interpreting feeding habits. J. Fish. R. Boar. Can., 25: 2561-2574.

Flores, P.A.C. – 1999. Preliminary results of a photo identification study of the marine tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis, in southern Brazil. Mar. Mammal Sci., 15: 840-847. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00846.x

Gannon, D.P., N.B. Barros, D.P. Nowacek, A.J. Read, D.M. Waples and R.S. Wells. – 2005. Prey detection by bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus: an experimental test of the passive listening hypothesis. Anim. Behav., 69: 709-720. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.06.020

Gurjão, L.M., M.A.A. Furtado-Neto, R.A. Santos and P. Cascon. – 2003. Feeding habits of marine tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis, at Ceará State, Northeastern Brazil. Lat. Am. J. Aqua. Mamm., 2: 117-122.

Katona, S. and H. Whitehead. – 1988. Are Cetacea ecologically important? Oceanogr. Mar. Biol., 26: 553-568.

Krebs, C.J. – 1998. Ecological Methodology. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

Krebs, C.J. – 2001. Ecology: The experimental analysis of distribution and abundance. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

Legendre, P. and L. Legendre. – 1998. Numerical Ecology. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.

Lêmos, P.H.B., M.F.M. Corrêa and V. Abilhôa. – 1992. Catálogo de otólitos de Gerreidae (Osteichthyes-Perciformes) do litoral do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Nerítica, 7: 109-117.

Lêmos, P.H.B., M.F.M. Corrêa, and P.C. Pinheiro. – 1995a. Catálogo de otólitos de Engraulidae (Clupeiformes-Perciformes) do litoral do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn., 38: 731-745.

Lêmos, P.H.B., M.F.M. Corrêa and P.C. Pinheiro. – 1995b. Catálogo de otólitos de Clupeidae (Clupeiformes-Perciformes) do litoral do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Braz. Arch. Biol. Techn., 38: 747-759.

Martins, A., M. Haimovici, and R. Palacios. – 2005. Diet and feeding of the cutlassfish Trichiurus lepturus in the Subtropical Convergence Ecosystem of southern Brazil. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK, 85: 1223-1229. doi:10.1017/S002531540501235X

Menezes, N.A. and J.L. Figueiredo. – 1980. Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. IV. Teleostei (3). Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Menezes, N.A. and J.L. Figueiredo. – 1985. Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. V. Teleostei (4). Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Norris, K.S. – 1961. Standardized methods for measuring and recording data on the smaller cetaceans. J. Mammal., 42: 471-476. doi:10.2307/1377364

Oliveira, M.R. – 2003. Ecologia alimentar de Sotalia guianensis e Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea, Delphinidae e Pontoporidae) no litoral sul do Estado de São Paulo e litoral do Estado do Paraná. MSc. thesis, Univ. Paraná.

Pansard, K.C.A. – 2009. Ecologia alimentar do boto-cinza, Sotalia guianensis (Van Benédén, 1864), no litoral do Rio Grande do Norte (RN). MSc. thesis, Univ. Rio Grande do Norte.

Pierce, G.J., P.R. Boyle and J.S.W. Diack. – 1991. Identification of fish otoliths and bones in faeces and digestive tracts of seals. J. Zool., 224: 320-328. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb04810.x

Pinkas, L., M.S. Oliphant and I.L.K. Iverson. – 1971. Food habits of albacore, bluefin tuna and bonito in California waters. Calif. Fish. Game, 152: 1-105.

Santos, R.A. and M. Haimovici. – 2001. Cephalopods in the diet of marine mammals stranded or incidentally caught along southeastern and southern Brazil (21-34º). Fish. Res., 52: 99-112.

Santos, M.C.O., S. Rosso, R.A. Santos, S.H.B. Lucato and M. Bassoi.– 2002. Insights on small cetacean feeding habits in southeastern Brazil. Aquat. Mamm., 28: 38-45.

Shane, S.H. – 1990. Behavior and ecology of the bottlenose dolphins at Sanibel Island, Florida. In: S. Leatherwood and R.R. Reeves (eds.), The Bottlenose Dolphin, pp. 245-265. Academic Press, San Diego.

Silva, V.M.E. and R.C. Best. – 1996. Sotalia fluviatilis. Mamm. Spec., 527: 1-7.

Silva, M.A. – 1999. Diet of common dolphins, Delphinus delphis, off the Portuguese continental coast. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. UK, 79: 531-540. doi:10.1017/S0025315498000654

Simões-Lopes, P.C. – 1988. Ocorrência de uma população de Sotalia fluviatilis, Gervais, 1853, (Cetacea, Delphinidae) no limite sul de sua distribuição, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Biotemas, 1: 57-62.

Szpilman, M. – 2000. Peixes Marinhos do Brasil: Guia prático de identificação. Instituto Ecológico Aqualung and MAUAD Editora, Rio de Janeiro.

Wedekin, L.L., F.G. Daura-Jorge, V.Q. Piacentini and P.C. Simões-Lopes. – 2007. Seasonal variation in spatial usage by the estuarine dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (van Bénéden) (Cetacea: Delphinidae), at its southern limit of distribution. Braz. J. Biol., 67: 1-8. PMid:17505744

Wells, R.S., A.B. Irvine and M.D. Scott. – 1980. The social ecology of inshore odontocetes. In: L.M. Herman (ed.), Cetacean behavior, mechanisms and functions, pp. 263-317. John Wiley, New York.

Young, D.D. and V.G. Cockcroft. – 1994. Diet of common dolphins off the south-east coast of southern Africa: opportunism or specialization? J. Zool., 234: 41-53. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1994.tb06055.x

Zanelatto, R.C. – 2001. Dieta do boto-cinza, Sotalia fluviatilis (Cetacea, Delphinidae) no complexo estuarino da Baía de Paranaguá e sua relação com a ictiofauna estuarina. MSc. Thesis, Univ. Paraná.