Using infrared thermography to assess seasonal trends in dorsal fin surface temperatures of free-swimming bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida |
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Authors: | M. M.,Barbieri W. A.,McLellan R. S.,Wells &dagger J. E.,Blum &Dagger S.,Hofmann § J.,Gannon § D. A.,Pabst ¶ |
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Affiliation: | Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, U.S.A. E-mail:; Chicago Zoological Society, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 34236, U.S.A.; Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, U.S.A.; Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 34236, U.S.A.; Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, U.S.A. |
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Abstract: | The temperature differential (Δ T ) between a body surface and the environment influences an organism's heat balance. In Sarasota Bay, FL, where ambient water temperature ( T w) ranges annually from 11° to 33°C, Δ T was investigated in a resident community of bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ). Dorsal fin surface temperatures ( T dfin) were measured on wild, free-swimming dolphins using infrared thermography. Field and laboratory calibration studies were also undertaken to assess the efficacy of this non-invasive technology in the marine environment. The portability of infrared thermography permitted measurements of T dfin across the entire range of environmental temperatures experienced by animals in this region. Results indicated a positive, linear relationship between T dfin and T w ( r 2= 0.978, P < 0.001). On average, T dfin was 0.9°C warmer than T w across seasons, despite the 22°C annual range in T w. Changes in integumentary and vascular insulation likely account for the stability of Δ T dfin − w and the protection of core temperature ( T core) across seasons. The high thermal conductivity of water may also influence this Δ T . The use of infrared thermography is an effective, non-invasive method of assessing dorsal fin skin surface temperatures (±1°C) across large numbers of wild, free-swimming dolphins throughout their thermally dynamic aquatic environment. |
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Keywords: | thermoregulation bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus dorsal fin surface temperature infrared thermography |
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