Volume 76
Spatio-temporal distribution of the rough-toothed dolphin, Steno bredanensis (Lesson, 1828) in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR)
Authors
Morales-Benavides, D., J. J. Kiszka, S. Gero, L. Bouveret, M. Ramírez-León, A. Henriquez, J. Luksenburg, and J. Bolaños-Jiménez Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2023
Event: Proceedings of the Seventy-Sixth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Nassau
Country: The Bahamas
Abstract
The rough-toothed dolphin, Steno bredanensis, is an oceanic delphinid distributed in tropical, subtropical to warm temperate waters around the globe. However, its spatial distribution is not uniform, and rough-toothed dolphins can be locally common, particularly around oceanic islands. Little is known on the distribution of rough-toothed dolphins in the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). Records from the published literature, online biodiversity repositories (OBIS SEAMAP and GBIF), and unpublished data from the coauthors were used to examine the spatiotemporal distribution of this species in the WCR. The WCR was divided into seven regions for the analysis: Bahamas Region, Eastern Florida, Greater Antilles, Gulf of Mexico, Central America, Eastern and Southern Caribbean Sea. A total of 348 records were compiled between 1961-2023, of which 334 (96%) were sightings, 12 (3.4 %) were strandings and 2 (0.6%) were direct takes. Records of S. bredanensis are not evenly distributed in the WCR, with 123 (35.3%) records in the Eastern Caribbean and 77 (22.1%) in the Gulf of Mexico. Our results suggest that S. bredanensis is distributed throughout the WCR, but some regions might have populations where targeted research should be conducted in the future.