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Reproduction in short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) from the western North Atlantic

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Abstract

A single population of short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus) occurs in the western North Atlantic from Florida to Newfoundland. Dolphins killed in a swordfish driftnet fishery between 1989 and 1998 provided samples for the present study. These were combined with additional observations from carcasses collected from stranding programs. Samples were examined from 74 female and 161 male short-beaked common dolphins. A highly significant male bias in the sex ratio of both the bycatch and stranding samples suggests that sex-based habitat partitioning or school segregation occurs in this population. Age was estimated from decalcified thin sections of teeth and testis and ovarian samples were examined both macro- and microscopically. Analyses showed that reproduction was both seasonal and synchronized. Females reached sexual maturation at approximately age eight; males matured at 9.5 years. Conception occurred during July and August (mean day 24 July). Gestation was estimated to last just under a year, so most females gave birth during July and August (mean day 15 July). Annual pregnancy rate was estimated to be between 25 and 33%. Males undergo a fivefold seasonal increase in testes mass and a twofold increase in seminiferous tubule diameter. Peak sperm production potential was observed in July. At the end of the breeding season testis size and activity decreased after August. Male dolphins in this population are hypothesized to engage in some form of sperm competition.

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Acknowledgments

A study of this kind requires access to good samples. We would like to thank all the NMFS observers who spent many days at sea collecting samples from short-beaked common dolphins under very difficult conditions. We were also able to obtain many high quality samples from numerous stranding organizations along the eastern seaboard including: the Virginia Marine Science Museum, NMFS-Beaufort, Mystic Aquarium, New England Aquarium, Cape Cod Stranding Network, and the University of North Carolina Wilmington Marine Mammal Stranding Network. We would also like to thank David Johnston, Damon Gannon, Ari Friedlaender, Danielle Waples, Tara Cox, Aleksija Nemanis, Sara Quinn, Fred Wenzel, John Nicolas, David Potter, Debbie Palka, Kerri Danil, Sinead Murphy, Randy Wells, and Heather Koopman for assistance, advice, and support. Richard Dillaman and Mark Gay of the University of North Carolina Wilmington facilitated and assisted with the microscope analysis. This work was funded by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NMFS (Reference Order 43EANF030087). We thank Gordon Waring for his patience in administering this contract. All specimens were obtained under appropriate U.S. government collection permits. Thoughtful reviews by Bill Perrin and one anonymous individual improved this paper.

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  1. Andrew J. Westgate

    Present address: Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University Marine Laboratory, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    Andrew J. Westgate & Andrew J. Read

  2. Chicago Zoological Society, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL, 34236, USA

    Andrew J. Westgate

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  1. Andrew J. Westgate
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Westgate.

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Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick

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Westgate, A.J., Read, A.J. Reproduction in short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) from the western North Atlantic. Mar Biol 150, 1011–1024 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-006-0394-1

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