Spinner Dolphin - Ecology

Ecology

The spinner dolphin lives in nearly all tropical and subtropical waters between 40°N and 40°S. The species is primarily inhabit inshore waters, islands or banks. However, in the eastern tropical Pacific, dolphins live far from shore. Spinner dolphin may use different habitats depending on the season.

The spinner dolphin feed mainly on small mesopelagic fish, squids and sergestid shrimps and will dive 200-300m to feed on them. Spinner dolphins of Hawaii are nocturnal feeder and forage in deep scattering layers, which contain many species. The dwarf spinner dolphin may eat mostly on benthic fish in reefs and shallow water. Off Oahu, Hawaii, spinner dolphins foraging at night and cooperatively herd their prey in highly dense patches. They swim around circle of prey and a pair may swim through it to make a catch. Spinner dolphins are themselves preyed on by sharks. Other possible predators include then killer whale, the false killer whale, the pygmy killer whale and the short finned pilot whale. They are also susceptible to parasites, both external ones like barnacles and remoras, and internal ones like nematodes, trematodes, cestodes and acanthocephalans.