The Dusky Dolphin: Master Acrobat Off Different Shores

The Dusky Dolphin: Master Acrobat Off Different Shores covers various topics about the dusky dolphin, including its taxonomy, history and demography, ecology, and behavior. After introducing the dusky dolphin as a member of the genus Lagenorhynchus under the family Delphinidae, the book continues by describing its life history, its demographic patterns, and its role in the food web considering predation, parasitism, and competition. The book also includes chapters that discuss the interaction of the dusky dolphin with its habitats, such as the dusky dolphin’s sound production, its foraging at night and in daylight, its survival strategies in response to predator threats, the mating habits of New Zealand duskies, calf rearing, sexual segregation, and genetic relationships. Other chapters address the interaction of dusky dolphins with humans.

This book offers information about dusky dolphins off Southern Africa and discussions about the patterns of sympatry in Lagenorhynchus and Cephalorhynchus. Finally, comparisons between dusky dolphins and great apes as large-brained mammals are also reviewed in this book.

Only book fully devoted to the southern hemisphere "dusky" dolphinHeavily illustrated with charts, figures, tables, and all color photosWritten by a cadre of experts intimately familiar with dolphin field workWritten in an accurate yet accessible style for the scientist and natural historian alike

Chapter 1: The Dusky Dolphins’ Place in the Delphinid Family Tree

Chapter 2: Dusky Dolphin Life History and Demography

Chapter 3: Dusky Dolphin Trophic Ecology: Their Role in the Food Web

Chapter 4: Acoustics of Dusky Dolphins

Chapter 5: Dusky Dolphins Foraging at Night

Chapter 6: Dusky Dolphins Foraging in Daylight

Chapter 7: Predator Threats and Dusky Dolphin Survival Strategies

Chapter 8: Mating Habits of New Zealand Dusky Dolphins

Chapter 9: Dusky Dolphin Calf Rearing

Chapter 10: Dusky Dolphin Sexual Segregation and Genetic Relatedness in New Zealand

Chapter 11: Human Interactions with Dusky Dolphins: Harvest, Fisheries, Habitat Alteration, and Tourism

Chapter 12: Human Interactions, A Management Perspective with Focus on Dusky Dolphins

Chapter 13: Dolphin Swimming and Watching: One Tourism Operator's perspective

Dennis Buurman

Chapter 14: Neglected but not Forgotten: Southern Africa's Dusky Dolphin

Chapter 15: Patterns of Sympatry in Lagenorhynchus and Cephalorhynchus: Dolphins in Different Habitats

Chapter 16: A Large-Brained Social Mammal

Chapter 17: Social Creatures in a Changing Sea: Concluding Remarks