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Marine Biology Commons

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Theses/Dissertations

LSU Master's Theses

Zoology

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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology

Habitat Usage Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) In Terrebonne And Timbalier Bays, Louisiana, Mary Allison Manning Jan 2019

Habitat Usage Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) In Terrebonne And Timbalier Bays, Louisiana, Mary Allison Manning

LSU Master's Theses

I coupled fine-scale environmental data with observed behavior and group composition data to examine overall distribution within the bay system and to characterize the habitat associated with foraging and the presence of calves. Semi-isolated populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) along Louisiana’s coast are undergoing increased risks from boat traffic, oil spills, land subsidence, and planned water diversions (CPRA 2017). Characterizing the habitat use of bottlenose dolphins in Terrebonne and Timbalier bays, Louisiana, is important given the likely high site fidelity, small home ranges, and low exchange of individuals with nearby coastal populations (Lane et al. 2015, McDonald …