Dolphins’ Methods of Hunting
Many organisms have developed intriguing methods to hunt their prey. This report explains the hunting methods of several species of dolphins. Relevant background information is provided. Hunting strategies are broken into two categories: individual hunting methods, and group hunting methods. Not all hunting methods belong strictly in one category; several of the methods covered are exhibited in other marine organisms. One group hunting method is unique to dolphins. Dolphins are skillful hunters because they exhibit many resourceful individual and group hunting strategies including kerplunking and herding.
Background Information: Common Biology
Relevant information on the biology of dolphins’ anatomy, motherhood, …show more content…
Typically, the short-beaked common dolphin grows to approximately eight feet as adults and is slender bodied; it also has a wide geographic spread, but is “restricted to temperate and tropical latitudes” (Burgess, 2006). Morphological differences are noted between populations in different geographic areas. Populations of common dolphins in the open ocean can have over a thousand individuals, while much smaller population sizes have been observed in coastal populations of common dolphins (Burgess, 2006). The bottlenose dolphin is another of the three species discussed. Bottlenose dolphins get a bit larger than the common dolphin, reaching ten to eleven feet as adults. They are also a bit plumber than the common dolphin. Dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) are a “southern hemisphere delphinid that is distributed over the Continental Shelf in temperate latitudes, mainly off South America, New Zealand (NZ), and western Africa” (Vaughn et al, 2011). All three species of dolphins have been documented exhibiting resources individual and group hunting …show more content…
There are a couple different types of strand-feeding, including barrier feeding, and partial or full beaching. Barrier feeding is when a dolphin herds its prey towards the shoreline (commonly mudflats) in order to limit the fishes’ horizontal movement. Barrier feeding has been exhibited by bottlenose dolphin populations that reside in the intracoastal waterway (ICW) of St. Johns County, Florida (Castle, 2016). This type of stand-feeding is also seen as the first step towards partial or full beaching. Dolphin exhibitions of partial or full beaching require the dolphin and its prey to either partially or fully leave the body of water, therefore finding themselves stuck on the beach. Once the dolphin has its prey near to the shoreline, it pushes the prey out of the water. The dolphin is then seen following the fish out of the water in order to catch
Many organisms have developed intriguing methods to hunt their prey. This report explains the hunting methods of several species of dolphins. Relevant background information is provided. Hunting strategies are broken into two categories: individual hunting methods, and group hunting methods. Not all hunting methods belong strictly in one category; several of the methods covered are exhibited in other marine organisms. One group hunting method is unique to dolphins. Dolphins are skillful hunters because they exhibit many resourceful individual and group hunting strategies including kerplunking and herding.
Background Information: Common Biology
Relevant information on the biology of dolphins’ anatomy, motherhood, …show more content…
Typically, the short-beaked common dolphin grows to approximately eight feet as adults and is slender bodied; it also has a wide geographic spread, but is “restricted to temperate and tropical latitudes” (Burgess, 2006). Morphological differences are noted between populations in different geographic areas. Populations of common dolphins in the open ocean can have over a thousand individuals, while much smaller population sizes have been observed in coastal populations of common dolphins (Burgess, 2006). The bottlenose dolphin is another of the three species discussed. Bottlenose dolphins get a bit larger than the common dolphin, reaching ten to eleven feet as adults. They are also a bit plumber than the common dolphin. Dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) are a “southern hemisphere delphinid that is distributed over the Continental Shelf in temperate latitudes, mainly off South America, New Zealand (NZ), and western Africa” (Vaughn et al, 2011). All three species of dolphins have been documented exhibiting resources individual and group hunting …show more content…
There are a couple different types of strand-feeding, including barrier feeding, and partial or full beaching. Barrier feeding is when a dolphin herds its prey towards the shoreline (commonly mudflats) in order to limit the fishes’ horizontal movement. Barrier feeding has been exhibited by bottlenose dolphin populations that reside in the intracoastal waterway (ICW) of St. Johns County, Florida (Castle, 2016). This type of stand-feeding is also seen as the first step towards partial or full beaching. Dolphin exhibitions of partial or full beaching require the dolphin and its prey to either partially or fully leave the body of water, therefore finding themselves stuck on the beach. Once the dolphin has its prey near to the shoreline, it pushes the prey out of the water. The dolphin is then seen following the fish out of the water in order to catch