Figure 1 The vessel traveling at speed VB and the dolphin traveling at VD as seen in the stationary frame of reference. The directi?n Q is t:he one chosen by the dolphin. Distance f is the perpendicular ~stance between the initial position of the dolphin and the prOjected path of the vessel, while a+f is the distance between vessel and dolphin when the dolphin is abeam. Manuscript accepted 5 Fe...

Abstract There are concerns about the short- and long-term effects on cetaceans from offshore construction using pile-driving. Gravity-base foundations anchored floating turbines alternative installation methods that may have less impact cetaceans. In this study, we investigated response of dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus Lagenorhynchus albirostris ) harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena to wind gra...

The discovery of ultrasonic bat echolocation prompted a wide search for other animal biosonar systems, which yielded, among few others, two avian groups. One, the South American Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis: Caprimulgiformes), is nocturnal and eats fruit. The other is a selection of diurnal, insect-eating swiftlets (species in the genera Aerodramus and Collocalia: Apodidae) from across the In...

Citation: Melcón ML (2015) Commentary: Echolocation and vision complement each other in two bat species. A commentary on It's not black or white—on the range of vision and echolocation in echolocating bats Many nocturnal mammals have developed senses such as vision, olfaction, and whisking to orient, navigate and forage in dark environments. Most bats, however, have evolved developing echolocat...

Individual identification of dolphins is of much interest to marine mammologists. Natural markings and notches on the trailing edge of the dorsal f in provide an almost unique signature within a study population for individual recognition. Dorsal fin is an alniost rigid, planar object, as a result the problem boils down to the planar curve matching. Invariants under three groups of similarity, ...

Dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs are two types of education programs within zoological institutions used to educate visitors about dolphins and the marine environment. The current study examined the short- and long-term effects of these programs on visitors' conservation-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Participants of both dolphin shows and interaction programs demonstr...

The bycatch of small cetaceans in commercial fisheries is a global wildlife management problem. We used data from skippers' logbooks and independent observers to assess common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) bycatch patterns between 2003 and 2009 in the Pilbara Trawl Fishery, Western Australia. Both datasets indicated that dolphins were caught in all fishery areas, across all depths and...

Compared with the echolocation performance of a blind expert, sighted novices rapidly learned size and position discrimination with surprising precision. We use a novel task to characterize the population distribution of echolocation skill in the sighted and report the highest known human echolocation acuity in our expert subject.

Phylogeny, ecology, and sensorial constraints are thought to be the most important factors influencing echolocation call design in bats. The Molossidae is a diverse bat family with a majority of species restricted to tropical and subtropical regions. Most molossids are specialized to forage for insects in open space, and thus share similar navigational challenges. We use an unprecedented datase...

The two sibling mouse-eared bats, Myotis myotis and M. blythii, cope with similar orientation tasks, but separate their trophic niche by hunting in species-specific foraging microhabitats. Previous work has shown that both species rely largely on passive listening to detect and glean prey from substrates, and studies on other bat species have suggested that echolocation is ;switched off' during...