Last updated: Nov 10, 2024
Our article on the behavioral responses of bottlenose dolphins in Rangiroa to scuba diving tourism has just been published in the scientific journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106426 In Rangiroa, scuba diving tourism promotes repeated intrusive interactions with bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We examined the behaviors over three years of 20 dolphins exposed to intrusive scuba divers to understand whether there are inter-individual variations in temperament among these dolphins in their interactions with divers and what the risks, for dolphins and divers, are associated with such a context.
Here are some highlights of this publication:
We identified five bold behaviors of dolphins towards divers There are differences in temperament among dolphins in the presence of divers Immature dolphins are bolder than mature individuals Four dolphins tolerate repeated physical interactions encouraged by divers These individuals would be more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of animal tourism We propose management measures aimed at minimizing risks, for dolphins and humans, related to dolphin watching and interaction tourism in Rangiroa Thanks to my co-authors, Drs. É. Clua and F. Delfour from CRIOBE-EPHE-PSL, to the anonymous reviewers and to Dr. J. Kiszka for their constructive criticisms and support for this work. I also take this opportunity to thank the Rangiroa Diving Center and the Raie Manta Club for their support in collecting underwater data.