Infanticide in Bottlenose dolphins of the Atlantic Infanticide is killing an infant, this is not simply found in dolphins but in many

other species as well. There is not always a direct cause for why these animals act this way but perhaps with more studies like these conducted, a more defined reason may be uncovered. Just a few other species that have been shown to have committed infanticide are but not limited to insects, amphibians, birds, and primates. In order to find if infanticide was in fact a present behavior in these bottlenose dolphins, a study was conducted between 1996 and 1997 off the coast of Virginia. This study revolved around dolphins that had been stranded. During this period of time there were 85 stranded bottlenose dolphins found off the coast. Of the 85 dolphins that were recovered from the waters it was discovered that 37 of those found were approximately less than 1 year of age. 20 of these dolphins were studied and it was found that blunt force trauma was the cause of death in 9 of the 20. Autopsies were performed on the 9 dolphins found to have died by blunt force trauma. Three were examined within 48 hours and the other six were frozen to study later. After the autopsies were finished, the findings showed some very interesting details. Seven of the 9 dolphins were classified as fresh dead and the other 2 as slightly decomposed. All of the dolphins size indicated that they were all within their first year of life and still depending on the care of their mothers. Five of the dolphin calves showed fetal folds that would indicate that these few were equal to or less than 2 months old. Of the 9 dolphins that were being examined, only three show external signs of injury. One calf did exhibit a bite mark across the jaw that matched up to the placement of an adult set of bottlenose dolphin teeth. Two of the other dolphins showed some scratches that also showed the correct spacing for adult teeth, as if they

had been dragged across the infant. The injuries seemed to be mostly around the head and the thorax of the attacked dolphins and all of the calves had multiple fractures to the rib cage bones, a few had fractured or injured vertebrae. Other injuries vary from other fractures such as skulls and scapulae, to numerous lacerations and contusions. The studies on the dolphins in question showed some very interesting trends and intriguing details. The first interesting point was that 6 of the 9 calves showed no visible outward signs of injury. The second finding was the fact that most injuries were located primarily around the head and thorax of the animals. The third was a pattern that shows repeated blunt force trauma from multiple directions. Therefore, the lacerations were determined to not be boats, fisheries or other causes, but do match the definition and trends of other cases of infanticide. It could be determined that if this was due to attack by sharks there would be more and different bite marks. A boat interaction would also show blunt force trauma, but it would not be as repetitive, in different and random directions, or be focused primarily in one area of the body. If the boat strike happened to be a propeller strike the dolphin would have shown sharp cuts. Coming in contact with fishing industry and fishing equipment is a very common issue with many aquatic animals including dolphins, but again the deceased calves did not show the same type of injuries consistent with being caught in fishing gear, and even though cranial fractures have been associated with fishing issues, the multiple fractures with internal injuries are not. Does infanticide have an effect on the population of bottlenose dolphins? There are a few hurdles that had an effect on answering that question. Many things about bottlenose dolphins are not known and many other factors that could shed light on the population are not well documented. Therefore the actual effect that infanticide could have on the population could not be answered.

Bibliography: EVIDENCE FOR INFANTICIDE IN BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC Dale G. Dunn, Susan G. Barco, D. Ann Pabst, and William A. McLellan Journal of Wildlife Diseases