Free-Ranging Energetics of Bottlenose Dolphins

短吻海豚Tursiops truncatus可能是 最广泛研究的小型鲸类动物， 关于它们的生理生态。几乎所有的研究 关于齿鲸类的能量消耗 在圈养的动物或训练过的动物身上进行过 动物们正在进行海洋呼吸测量。到目前为止， 没有对任何自由的能源需求进行直接的实地研究， 鲸类动物 该项目代表了一个持续的 旨在阐明代谢和行为的程序 在正常的季节性周期中发生的调整， 海豚在过去的三年里， 海豚绝缘脂肪储存的变化， 萨拉索塔湾，佛罗里达州，以及新陈代谢和水的测量 和能量流。下一阶段是测量 这些动物自由觅食的能量。的 萨拉索塔湾海豚社区是这些研究的理想选择，因为它 是有可能反复捕获已知的个体海豚的。 这种能力使人们能够将季节性变化与 能量消耗，使用双标记水测量 技术，随着动物绝缘能力的变化， 觅食成本在之前的研究中， 随季节变化。然而，它一直无法分离 这些鲸脂厚度的变化是否仅仅与 动物能量储存的季节性变化（即，他们在 对猎物可获得性和组成的变化作出反应）或 这些变化是否是对 环境水温此外，数据来源于此 这项研究将首次直接测量海上 一种小型鲸类动物的代谢率。鲸目动物的测量 觅食能量学将增加我们对成本的理解 以及海洋中各种觅食模式的效率 环境

The bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus is likely the most extensively studied small cetacean, yet very little is know about their physiological ecology. Virtually all studies concerning the energetic expenditures of Odontocete cetaceans have been performed either on captive animals or on trained animals doing open-ocean respirometry. Thus far there have been no direct field studies of the energy requirements of any free- ranging cetacean. This project represents the next phase in a continuing program designed to elucidate the metabolic and behavioral adjustments which occur during normal seasonal cycles in dolphins. Over the previous 3 years, measurements have been made of the changes in the insulative blubber stores of dolphins in Sarasota Bay, FL, as well as measurements of metabolism and water and energy flux in captive dolphins. The next phase is to measure the free-ranging foraging energetics of these animals. The Sarasota Bay dolphin community iis ideal for these studies as it is possible to repeatedly recapture known individual dolphins. This capability allows one to correlate seasonal changes in energy expenditure, measured using the double-labelled water technique, with changes in the animals insulative capability and foraging costs. In previous research, blubber thickness was found to vary seasonally. However, it has not been possible to separate whether these changes in blubber thickness were related solely to seasonal changes in the animals energy stores (i.e., are they responding to changes in prey availability and composition) or whether these changes are in response to variations in the ambient water temperature. In addition, data derived from this study will provide the first direct measurement of the at-sea metabolic rate of a small cetacean. Measurement of cetacean foraging energetics will increase our understanding of the costs and efficiencies of various foraging modes in the marine environment.