Dear MARMAM community, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of our latest paper on delphinid mixed-species groups in Scientific Reports.
Syme, J., Kiszka, J.J. & Parra, G.J. Habitat partitioning, co-occurrence patterns, and mixed-species group formation in sympatric delphinids. Sci Rep 13, 3599 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30694-w Abstract: Numerous species have been reported to form mixed-species groups, however, little is known about the interplay between niche partitioning and mixed-species group formation. Furthermore, it is often unclear whether species come together by chance due to overlapping habitat preferences, by shared attraction to resources, or by attraction between them. We assessed habitat partitioning, co-occurrence patterns, and mixed-species group formation of sympatric Australian humpback (Sousa sahulensis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) around the North West Cape, Western Australia, with a joint species distribution model and temporal analyses of sighting data. Australian humpback dolphins preferred shallower and more nearshore waters than Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, yet these species co-occurred more often than expected by chance given shared responses to environmental variables. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins were sighted more often than Australian humpback dolphins during the afternoon, however, we did not find any temporal patterns in the occurrence of mixed-species groups. We propose that the positive association in the species' occurrence indicates the active formation of mixed-species groups. By evaluating habitat partitioning and co-occurrence patterns, this study provides direction for future work which should proceed to investigate the benefits that these species may gain from grouping with each other. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at jonathan.s...@flinders.edu.au<mailto:jonathan.s...@flinders.edu.au> Kind regards, Jonathan Jonathan Syme, PhD Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
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