Drones Assist in the First Report of a Mixed-Species Group of Tursiops truncatus (Common Bottlenose Dolphin) and a Stenella frontalis (Atlantic Spotted Dolphin) Along the Southeast Florida Coast

Cassandra Volker^1,*, Jessica Pate², Denise Herzing^1,3, and Bethany Augliere¹

¹The Wild Dolphin Project, 1208 US Highway 1, Suite G, North Palm Beach, FL 33408.²Marine Megafauna Foundation, 7750 Okeechobee Boulevard, Suite 4-3038, West Palm Beach, FL 33411. ³Florida Atlantic University, Dept of Biological Sciences, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 22, Issue 3 (2023): N45–N51

Abstract
Cetacean mixed-species groups are common around the world, but little is known about how and why they occur. Tursiops truncatus (Common Bottlenose Dolphin) and Stenella frontalis (Atlantic Spotted Dolphin) are delphinidae species that have been sighted, separately, along the southeast coast of Florida. Although these species are observed interacting together in other portions of their range, this is the first report of a known mixed-species group of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins and Common Bottlenose Dolphins off the southeast Florida coast. We observed both foraging and social behaviors using a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone. The function of mixed-species groups is understudied, yet Florida may provide opportunities for future research.

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