The Hawaiian spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris: Effects of tourism.

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20 Spinner dolphins feed offshore on mesopelagic fish and squid of the deep sea scattering layer at night and move into near-shore waters, often protected bays, during the day to rest (Norris and Dohl 1980). Feeding dives may start at dusk and continue throughout the night (Würsig, Wells, Norris and Würsig 1994), often with several schools coalescing to form large feeding aggregations that surface synchronously or sub-synchronously (Norris and Dohl 1980). Bays are thought to provide protection from rough seas and pelagic shark predation during periods of rest. Kealake’kua Bay on the island of Hawai'i is an established resting site for spinner dolphins (Norris et al. 1985, Norris 1991; Wells and Norris 1994). Dolphins usually arrive in the bays just after sunrise and slowly descend into a period of rest (Würsig and Würsig 1983), as evidenced by a decrease in the frequencies of aerial activity and vocalizations. Dolphins become more active in the afternoon and begin to socialize before moving offshore again to feed during the night (Norris and Dohl 1980, Würsig et al. 1994). Dolphin rest areas are distributed discontinuously along coastlines, for there are several coastal areas where schools of dolphins congregate, and other regions of the coast that are devoid of dolphins (Norris and Dohl 1980). Rest areas which may, or may not, contain coves seem to be chosen for their physical characteristics and proximity to feeding grounds (Norris and Dohl 1980, Wells and Norris 1994). They are typically less than 50 m deep, but within a few km of deep water (greater than 500 m depth) and have sandy bottoms which may be dotted with coral formations. Some rest areas are visited on a regular basis, while others are used less frequently. Furthermore,
21 some areas consistently have more dolphins than other areas (Norris and Dohl 1980, Wells and Norris 1994). Morning shoreward movement may start as early as 0300, with subgroups becoming less evident as dolphin schools gradually move closer to shore (Würsig et al. 1994). When schools reach near-shore waters, they remain transient unless rest coves are encountered. In general, congregation patterns suggest that bays and coves used for rest may not be the target of shoreward movement; the bays may simply collect dolphin schools (Norris and Dohl 1980). Subsidence into rest is a gradual process that begins as schools reach resting areas. The entire process, which may require two or more hours, is characterized by a gradual reduction in aerial activities and vocalizations. During this descending into rest, the school tightens and dives become more synchronous (Würsig et al. 1994). Larger schools of more than 50 animals typically exhibit higher levels of aerial activity and require more time to subside into rest. Norris and Dohl (1980) defined rest to occur when a 10-minute observation period revealed no aerial behavior, although sporadic low-intensity aerial behavior may occur during rest. Norris and Dohl (1980) found that synchronous diving by the entire school typically indicated the onset of rest. Resting dolphin schools are usually confined to shallow water less than 10 to 20 m deep (Norris and Dohl 1980); and such resting dolphins exhibit longer dive times, shorter surface intervals, and decreased interindividual and inter-group distances as they move slowly back and forth, deep within the bay (Würsig et al. 1994).
Page 1 and 2: 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Documented
Page 3 and 4: 3 avoid areas within 10 km of activ
Page 5 and 6: 5 displayed a significant reduction
Page 7 and 8: 7 a linear model, the vessel explai
Page 9 and 10: 9 decreasing their surface times (C
Page 11 and 12: 11 Hector's dolphins, Cephalorhynch
Page 13 and 14: 13 a killer whale (Herman and Tavol
Page 15 and 16: 15 The Marine Mammal Protection Act
Page 17 and 18: 17 Dearden 1993, Thompson et al. 19
Page 19: 19 dorsal surface and a white ventr
Page 23 and 24: 23 Aerial Behaviors Spinner dolphin
Page 25 and 26: 25 Norris and Dohl 1980). Increases
Page 27 and 28: 27 CHAPTER III OCCURRENCE AND BEHAV
Page 29 and 30: 29 Thirty-five observation days wit
Page 31 and 32: Figure 4 31
Page 33 and 34: Figure 6a,b 33
Page 35 and 36: Figure 8a 35
Page 37 and 38: 37 Most human activities that were
Page 39 and 40: Table 1 39
Page 41 and 42: 41 Discussion Norris et al. (1994 )
Page 43 and 44: 43 The correlation between number o
Page 45 and 46: 45 to perform. If the dolphins do,
Page 47 and 48: 47 times motor boats approached and
Page 49 and 50: 49 On one occasion, a swimmer obser
Page 51 and 52: Figure 11a, b 51
Page 55 and 56: 55 Figure 15. Square root of aerial
Page 57 and 58: 57 Figure 18a. Spinner dolphin surf
Page 59 and 60: 59 3.6 2 Square root of aerial acti
Page 61 and 62: 61 Figure 21a. Square root of aeria
Page 65 and 66: 65 Figure 25a. Square root of aeria
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71 Discussion Swimmer and kayak dis
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73 morning than in the afternoon, t
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75 used by some boat operators resu
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77 reduced energy levels, then incr
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79 LITERATURE CITED Acevedo, A. 199
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81 Cooke, J. 1991. Classification a
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83 Gordon, J. and Moscrop, A. 1996.
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85 Montero, R., Martin, V., Heimlic
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87 Associates Inc., Bryan, Texas. F
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89 Wells, R. S. and Norris, K. S. 1
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The Hawaiian spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris: Effects of tourism.

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