High performance turning capabilities during foraging by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Large predators should have difficulty catching small prey because small animals demonstrate greater maneuverability and agility compared to large animals. The ability of a predator to capture small prey indicates locomotor strategies to compensate for inequities in maneuverability. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida feed on fish at least one order of magnitude smaller than themselves. To examine the locomotor strategies involved in prey capture, the foraging movements of these dolphins were videotaped from overhead using a remotely-controlled camera suspended from a helium-filled aerostat, which was tethered to an observation vessel. Dolphins were observed to rapidly maneuver during chases of fish in open water or around patches of rooted vegetation. Video analysis of the chase sequences indicated that the dolphins could move the rostrum through small radius turns with a mean value of 0.20 body lengths and with a minimum value of 0.08 body lengths. Mean rate of turn was 561.6degrees/sec with a maximum rate measured at 1,372.0degrees/sec. High turning rates with small turning radii were primarily the result of maneuvers in which the dolphin rolled 90degrees and rapidly flexed its body ventrally. The ability of dolphins to change body orientation in multiple rotational axes provides a mechanism to reduce turning radius and increase turning rate to catch small, elusive prey.