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Known from Glover's Reef Atoll (Ref. 85586). Turneffe Atoll has a low dolphin density is 0.16 dolphins per km2 due to a combination of low predation rates and low food availability (Ref. 86750). Energy intake was identified as selective pressure on group size, and in Drowned Cayes, small group sizes are optimized for food resources that are low in density (Ref. 86894). Group size may be based on the location and its habitat type (Ref. 86753). Dolphins in this area are mostly transients or infrequent visitors, where only 30% of the dolphin population are residents. This is cause for concern since this area is targeted for increased tourism and development (Ref. 86750). Threats includes overfishing, illegal fishing and rapid development impacting the ecological integrity of the Atoll (Ref. 86893). Unregulated interactions has already been observed. Concerns include increase in the number of people seeking interaction and a need for official guidelines of regulations governing dolphin encounters. This is to prohibit endangerment to the animal and humans since aggressive behavior is observed especially with lone dolphins. An example of this is Pita, located at the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, where it was observed to exhibit sexual behaviors towards objects, touched swimmers, and showed directed aggression to those attempting to leave the water during an encounter. Humans on the other hand attempted to ride her, touch her sensitive areas including genitals and blowhole that was observed to cause the aggressive and harmful behavior (Ref. 87093). C: Ref. 85586, 86894, 86750, 83947; M: Ref. 1394. |