SPECIES IDENTIFICATION BOOKLET Ada Natoli, Ph.D.

WHY A UAE DOLPHIN PROJECT?

WHY IS IMPORTANT TO REPORT A SIGHTING?

WHY DOLPHINS ARE IMPORTANT?The UAE Dolphin Project aims to investigate the dolphin population along the UAE coastline, to provide scientific baseline information and raise public awareness. As no dedicated survey has ever been conducted, the targets of the project are to assess which species occur, their frequency, their population estimates and whether they are transient or resident populations.

Dolphins are not only cute iconic animals, they play a crucial role in the marine ecosystem. Being at the top of the marine food chain, together with other species such as sharks and top marine predators, they are “Ecological Indicators” of the status of the sea. The presence of a healthy dolphin population means that the marine environment can sustain them and therefore is in a good condition.

As no baseline information is available, every single sighting reported will be extremely useful to help the researcher to understand the dolphin’s occurrence, which areas are more frequented and use these information to better plan a dedicate survey. If you have the possibility to take pictures or video, that will help to confirm the species you have seen and maybe identify the individual.

HOW TO

• Doing very little you can really make the difference in protecting the local marine environment and support the research on the local dolphin population.

• Fill the form at the back of this leaflet and return it to your club.• Go to our website www.uaedolphinproject.org and use our interactive

form to Report a Sighting .• Send a text to +971 566717164 including the date, time, location of the

sighting (preferably GPS positions), approximate number of individuals and if any photo or video was taken. (e.g.: 03042011 12:30 25.2697N, 55.3095E (or: 1mile front Burj Al Arab) 12 yes)

• Email to sighting@uaedolphinproject.org reporting the data as above.• Post your sighting data on the project Facebook or Twitter page.

HOW TO BE DOLPHIN SMARTThe caution zone for vessels is the area within 150m of a dolphin and 300m of a whale. No more than three vessels should stay within the caution zone at any one time and vessels should move cautiously at no wake speeds within this zone. Approach whales and dolphins from parallel to and slightly to the rear – not from directly behind or head-on. When leaving whales or dolphins, move off at a slow (no wake) speed to the outer limit of the caution zone (300m) from the closest animal before gradually increasing speed. Watch out for offspring presence! avoid disturbance to mother whales or dolphins and their calves. Mother and calf will be close together and the calves are sometimes difficult to see. If there is a sudden change in whale or dolphin behavior, move away immediately at a slow steady pace. Whales and dolphins sometimes form social groupings and may approach your vessel – if this happens place the engine in neutral and let the animal(s) come to you; or slow down and continue on course; or steer a straight course away from them.

* Be Dolphin SMART code is based on international guidelines. The contents and design have been adopted from the Ionian Dolphin Project (Tethys Research Institute). Illustratation by Massimo Demma. http://ioniandolphinproject.org

PLEASE BE DOLPHIN SMART! Report a sighting and demonstrate your support for dolphin conservation.

*S stay back 50 metres from dolphins (100m from whales).*M move away cautiously if dolphins/whales show signs of disturbance (sudden change in behavior).*A always put your engine in neutral when dolphins/whales are near.*R refrain from feeding, touching, or swimming with wild dolphins.*T teach others to be Dolphin SMART.

Caution

Zone

50m

150 m

Caution

zone

60°NO approach

zone

60°NO approach

zone

60°NO approach

zone

60°NO approach

zone

Bottlenose Dolphin Humpback Dolphin

Characteristic bump in front of the dorsal fi n. Gray color with long slender beak. Approximate max length 2.7m.

Grey color with falcate fi n, sometimes spotted belly is visible. Robust body with a medium length beak. Approximate max length is 2.6m. Possibly a bigger species can be sighted offshore.

FAST FACT

• Dolphins and whales are mammals that mean that they need to breath air and if entangled in nets they can drown like us.

• It is not true that if you whistle or clap your hands dolphins will come closer. Generally dolphins approach the boats to surf the wave or because they are curious.

• Long-term boat disturbance on a dolphin population has been proved to be detrimental for its well-being: increase the mortality rate and decrease birth rate.

• There are different categories to describe the dolphin behaviour. Travelling: when they proceed in a clear direction at relative steady pace. Feeding: generally characterise by the presence of fi sh in the surrounding and surface activity. Socializing: usually when jumps and interactions among individuals are evident. Milling: when the animals are hanging around with a non-clear direction, possibly sleeping.

• As much as dolphins seem friendly, they can be dangerous. Think! A dolphin is on average a 250kg animal with LOTS of teeth!!

Characteristic bump in front of

Finless Porpoise Dugong is not a dolphin!

Dark grey back with no dorsal fi n. Total length is approximate max 2m. It has a blowhole so it surfaces orizontally as opposite dugongs that surface with their nostris.

It is a Sirenian! Brownish to dark gray, no dorsal fi n. The nostris located at tip of muzzle comes up fi rst when surfaces. Approximate max length 3.3m.

FAST FACT

• Being mammals, dolphins and whales give birth to a live baby, called calf. They are born tail fi rst and suckle from their mother for up to 4 years. Mother dolphins produce milk that is extremely rich in fat, often up to 50 percent.

It is a Sirenian! Brownish to

DO YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION? VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CONTACT: SIGHTING@UAEDOLPHINPROJECT.ORG

Sighting details:

Other:

• Approximate number of animals:

Behaviour: (E.g. leaping, feeding, bowriding, direction, distance from boat)

• Presence of calves:

• Photos / videos : Yes No

• Species confidence: Certain Probable Not sure

• Species:Humpback DugongFinlessBottlenose

Dolphin Sighting FormObserver details

• NAME

• EMAIL address

• MOBILE number

• Date (e.g.: 03-05-2011) • Time (e.g.:14:35) Sea state: Beaufort scale (please circle)

0------------1------------2------------3------------4------------5------------6------------7+Mirror moderate very rough calm white caps

Latitude:

Longitude:

• Location (State your country and your position using landmarks (e.g. UAE, Dubai, 1 mile from shore between The Burj Al Arab and the World Islands) :

Location and time:

• Animals seen from (Please tick one):Boat Kayak Land Air

N-

-

-

- E

You can also report a sighting by:

sms to mail to tweet message into our facebook page!

+971 566717164 sighting@uaedolphinproject.org@UAEdolphinproje

Endorsered by

Sponsor

www.uaedolphinproject.org

UAEdolphinproject is a non profit initiative | the brand image of UAE dolphin project is licensed under CC (creative commons 3.0) by Ada Natoli ph.D | Last version of this document on 03/17/2013