Abstract: Activity budgets are a useful means of investigating an animal’s relationship with its environment and can provide important conservation information. This study investigated the activity budgets of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the Port River estuary in Adelaide, South Australia. A total of 106 d on the water provided 235.9 h of observation via individual follows with continuous sampling. Six categories (travelling, foraging, feeding, socializing, resting, and other) were recorded. There were statistically significant changes to daily activity budgets for resting, for-aging, travelling, and feeding. There were no seasonal variations to the activity budgets, but foraging increased between December and March, which is the breeding period for these animals. These results were compared to bottlenose dolphin activity bud-gets in other parts of the world. These data provide a useful baseline against which to compare future impacts on this highly urbanized population.

Key Words: seasonal variation, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops aduncus, daily activity, activity budget, Port River estuary, South Australia

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1578/AM.38.3.2012.267

Page Numbers: 267-278