Prešeren’s dolphin could hold the long-distance swimming record
A team of researchers, including experts from the University of St Andrews, have documented the longest recorded movement of a porpoise dolphin – an incredible journey of 2,053 km (about 1,276 miles).
The study, titled “Longest Recorded Movement of a Coastal Porpoise (Tursiops truncates) During World Record Dolphin Research,” is published in Biology of mammals.
In February 2020, researchers from the University of Marine Mammal Research (SMRU) and Morigenos, the Society of Marine Mammals of Slovenia, photographed a dolphin that had never been seen there before, off the coast of Piran in Slovenia.
He was named Prešeren because he was spotted on Prešeren’s Day, a Slovenian national holiday dedicated to the poet France Prešeren. A month later, he was seen again in the area.
The following year, the main author Dr. Tilen Genov accidentally attended an online lecture by an Italian colleague Dr. Francesce Blasi from Filicudi WildLife Conservation and spotted a fin that he recognized in one of the photos.
After carefully examining all the available photos, the researchers collectively determined beyond doubt that it was the same dolphin that Italian researchers had originally named Lino. Prešeren had to walk at least 1,251 km to get from the Tyrrhenian Sea, north of Sicily, to Slovenia, breaking all previous Mediterranean and also most world records.
But the surprises did not end there. After presenting their preliminary results at an online international conference, the researchers were contacted by a team from Delfini Del Ponente, which studies dolphins in the Ligurian Sea in Italy. The same dolphin was photographed just half a year after it was spotted near Piran.
This time, Prešeren had to travel at least 2053 km (the shortest possible route), which is the longest recorded movement in the so-called coastal ecotype large porpoisesand second longest for species generally. The only long-term movement recorded was that of a porpoise ecotype at sea, which was tracked via satellite transmitter after a period of rehabilitation in humans.
dr. Genov said: “Porpoises are generally considered to be a relatively resident species that is strongly loyal to their home range. This is largely true, but our new findings, together with our review of the existing literature, show that this species is much more mobile than we previously thought.”
“This is important in relation to gene flow between populations, which is crucial for the long-term conservation of this species, and at the same time demonstrates the importance of international cooperation in biodiversity conservation. Such findings contribute to a better understanding of species, which indirectly leads to a better understanding of marine ecosystems. ”
More information:
Tilen Genov et al, The longest recorded movement of a shore porpoise (Tursiops truncatus), Biology of mammals (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00316-5
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University of St Andrews
Citation: Preeren’s dolphin could hold long-distance swimming record (2022, December 22) Retrieved December 22, 2022, from https://phys.org/news/2022-12-preeren-dolphin-long-distance.html
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