Inter-island movements of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus among the Canary Islands: online catalogues and implications for conservation and management

Abstract

A total of 313 individual common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus was photo-identified in four Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in the western Canary Islands, Spain (El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife), over a 10-year period (2001–2011). Of these, 36 individuals were resighted subsequently off two or more different islands, determined using online and conventional photo-identification catalogues. This study provides the first evidence of regular, long-distance movements undertaken by common bottlenose dolphins in the Canary Islands. Distances travelled ranged from 30 to 130 km between islands, demonstrating that the species is highly mobile within the archipelago. These results have important implications for the conservation and management of this species in this region and highlight the need to evaluate the efficiency of existing SACs and to further explore residency patterns.