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Salt has been known to affect the healing rate of wounds in some organisms, but the effects of salinity have not been widely studied in bottlenose dolphins. #AnimBehav2021 #dolphins
We looked at differences in the salinity of aquatic environments in #SouthTexas and its effects on the dolphin stocks. Stocks from Laguna Madre and Corpus Christi Bay were studied. Laguna Madre is a hypersaline bay and Corpus Christi Bay has lower salinity levels. #AnimBehav2021
We used photographs of dorsal fins to identify and match individual dolphins. Photographs were collected from a boat platform between 2014 and 2020 in both Laguna Madre and Corpus Christi Bay so that the populations could be compared to each other. #AnimBehav2021 #match
Dorsal fins were measured using ImageJ to determine if the length of the scar had changed relative to its dorsal fin length. These measurements were then correlated to salinity to demonstrate whether there is an influence on the healing rate of scars. #AnimBehav2021 #salty
Many scars can no longer be located in the later photos throughout both sample populations. The source and severity of scars might help answer the question of how factors such as salinity may affect scars used for photo identification. #AnimBehav2021 #scars
The change in appearance of a scar over time affects the reliability of using that scar for identification. Studying types of scars, how they heal, and factors that affect them can help to better determine the efficacy of photo identification in long term studies. #AnimBehav2021
