Weight: to pounds. Data deficient. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Unknown. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Climate change is shrinking many Amazonian birds. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth.
Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs. Meet the people trying to help. Environment COP26 nears conclusion with mixed signals and frustration.
Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia.
More than one-third of U. We're on the ground in seven regions across the country, collaborating with 52 state and territory affiliates to reverse the crisis and ensure wildlife thrive. Uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world. Inspire a lifelong connection with wildlife and wild places through our children's publications, products, and activities.
In 4 seconds , you will be redirected to nwfactionfund. The National Wildlife Federation. Spinner Dolphin. Classification: Mammal. Description Spinner dolphins are the acrobats of the ocean. Range Spinner dolphins live in warm ocean waters around the world. Diet Spinner dolphins are carnivores. Behavior Spinner dolphins travel in groups called schools, which can be very large, sometimes with hundreds of dolphins together.
Conservation Tuna fishing is one of the biggest threats to spinner dolphins. Fun Fact Dolphins communicate with one another through echolocation. Donate Today. These responses may, over time, result in negative effects to the fitness of individuals or resident populations. For example, lack of consistent, undisturbed resting periods can reduce the amount of energy available for a spinner dolphin to engage effectively in foraging activities at night.
Peer-reviewed scientific literature has documented disturbance responses by individual spinner dolphins, as well as changes to spinner dolphin group behavior patterns over time.
Individual dolphin responses include:. Human-caused disturbances to daily behaviors may be incidents of 'take,' as defined and prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Marine debris is a growing concern within the marine environment, as it poses multiple threats to the marine ecosystem. For instance, spinner dolphins may ingest either directly or through prey items or become entangled in marine debris.
These interactions may cause:. The severity of the effects of debris interactions on all dolphin populations remains unclear because many deaths likely occur undetected at sea. We do not have sufficient information to determine the severity of the threat of direct ingestion of large debris on spinner dolphin populations.
Some data indicates that spinner dolphin prey species are consuming very small plastics. Larger fish generally had more pieces of plastic in their guts than smaller fish. We are particularly concerned about the ability for plastic debris to absorb organic pollutants that may be toxic to the marine organisms that ingest them. These contaminants can bioaccumulate as they move up the food chain to top predators such as spinner dolphins.
Scientists have also found high levels of butyltin and organochlorine chemical compounds found in some plastics in migrating lantern fish species in the Western North Pacific, which may indicate a cause for concern for predators, such as spinner dolphins. Humans introduce sound intentionally and unintentionally into the marine environment. This could be from commercial and recreational ocean activities, navigation, oil and gas exploration and acquisition, research, and military activities.
Spinner dolphins use sound to communicate, navigate, locate prey, locate predators, and sense their environment, which can be impacted by introduced anthropogenic noise How severely noise exposure affects dolphins and whales depends on factors including:. In marine mammal populations, noise can seriously disrupt communication, navigational ability, and social patterns. Spinner dolphins, like all marine mammals, can be susceptible to widespread disease.
Outbreaks in spinner dolphins are not commonly reported, but scientists have previously detected serious diseases, such as toxoplasmosis and cetacean morbillivirus. Although the number of spinner dolphin deaths attributed to these diseases is fairly low many are thought to be unreported , thousands of other marine mammal species have died from these diseases worldwide.
We are committed to protecting spinner dolphins through various conservation, regulatory, and enforcement measures. Our work includes:. We conduct various research activities on the biology, behavior, and ecology of the spinner dolphin. The results of this research inform management decisions and enhance recovery efforts for this species.
Do not harass, feed, hunt, capture, kill, pursue, approach, surround, swim with, or attempt to touch protected marine wildlife. Never entice protected marine wildlife to approach you.
Do not engage, chase, or try to get a reaction from the animal. Disturbing wildlife interrupts their ability to perform critical functions such as feeding, breeding, nursing, resting, and socializing. If a spinner dolphin approaches your vessel, continue normal navigation and make no effort to engage or pursue the animal.
It is prohibited to swim-with and approach or remain within 50 yards of a Hawaiian spinner dolphin for persons, vessels, and objects , including approach by interception i. Learn more about the protections for Hawaiian spinner dolphins against disturbance. Report a sick, injured, entangled, stranded, or dead animal to make sure professional responders and scientists know about it and can take appropriate action.
Numerous organizations around the country are trained and ready to respond. Never approach or try to save an injured or entangled animal yourself—it can be dangerous to both the animal and you. Learn who you should contact when you encounter a stranded or injured marine animal.
This hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone in the United States. Be responsible when viewing marine life in the wild. Observe all dolphins and porpoises from a safe distance of at least 50 yards and limit your time spent observing to 30 minutes or less.
Learn more about our marine life viewing guidelines. The Hawaiian population of spinner dolphins spend their daylight hours in coastal waters, generally in calm bays.
They use these areas to rest, socialize, care for their young, and avoid predators. At night, they travel to deeper water to hunt for food. Spinner dolphins have what is called a "fission-fusion social pattern. Both of these estimates lack data from the stocks' full ranges. Information is insufficient to provide estimates for the other three stocks. Spinner dolphins occur throughout the entire Hawaiian Archipelago. These stocks live in coastal waters to 10 nautical miles from the shore of their resident island s.
All other spinner dolphins found outside of 10 nautical miles and within the U. The genetic data suggest that these stocks are reproductively isolated populations, meaning that there is little to no breeding between stocks. NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to conserving spinner dolphin populations through numerous management and regulatory actions.
All marine mammals are protected from "take" under the MMPA. The MMPA defines take to mean: "to harass, hunt, capture, or kill" any marine mammal or attempt to do so. Harassment is further defined as any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which has the potential to do the following:. When viewing spinner dolphins in the wild, people must ensure their activities will not result in "take. They are one of the most easily encountered cetaceans in the waters of the main Hawaiian Islands, and thus they are vulnerable to disturbance and harassment.
Dolphin-directed activities have grown dramatically in recent years, and the easily accessible Hawaiian spinner dolphins face heavy and increasing pressure from people seeking a dolphin experience. These chronic disturbances to resting dolphins can negatively affect their health, fitness, and ultimately their survival.
A proposed rule to establish mandatory time-area closures of Hawaiian spinner dolphins' essential daytime habitats was also published on September 28, Learn more about the Hawaiian spinner dolphin swim-with and approach regulation.
NOAA Fisheries has developed wildlife viewing guidelines for spinner dolphins and other protected species to help the public understand how to responsibly and legally view these animals. To be compliant with the law, it is best to follow the guidelines. We work with volunteer networks in all coastal states to respond to marine mammal strandings including all dolphins and porpoises.
When stranded animals are found dead, our scientists work to understand and investigate the cause of death. Although the cause often remains unknown, scientists can sometimes attribute strandings to disease, harmful algal blooms, vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglements, pollution exposure, and underwater noise. Some strandings can serve as indicators of ocean health, giving insight into larger environmental issues that may also have implications for human health and welfare.
Spinner dolphins have been part of a declared unusual mortality event in the past. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act , an unusual mortality event is defined as "a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response.
0コメント