Two populations of bottlenose dolphins are targeted by marine tourism as part of scenic cruises in two different fjords (Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound) in Fiordland, New Zealand. Both populations are small (less than 70 individuals each) and apparently closed to immigration/emigration, yet they are located in close vicinity of one another and therefore offer an opportunity to test the effect of different levels of tourism activities on the populations. Milford Sound's industry is more developed (~7000 cruises/year offered) than in Doubtful Sound (~1500 cruises/year). For more details see reference (below).
State 1: short-term behavioural response. Dolphins are more likely to start travelling after an interaction with a boat, and spend less time resting and socialising.
State 2: area avoidance. Dolphins avoid altogether an area where they know they will encounter many boats. This avoidance appears to permit the animals to maintain a steady energetic budget (derived from the behavioural budget).
For a given group of dolphins, if boat interactions are spaced at less than 68 minutes on average, then dolphins switch from state 1 to state 2. Time spent travelling and diving is increased, whilst time spent resting and socializing is decreased). Less time for socializing may reduce reproductive output of a population.
Contact
David Lusseau
Email
d.lusseau@abdn.ac.uk
University of Aberdeen
Keywords
empirical, avoidance, behavioural budget, energy budget, bottlenose dolphins, tourism
