Recensement du grand dauphin Tursiops truncatus dans les eaux tunisiennes

Abstract

In the setting of a program of census and identification of cetaceans in the Tunisian waters, started in 2001 by a pilot campaign limited to the region of the Sahel (of Sousse to The Chebba), the INSTM (National Institute of Sea Sciences and Technologies of Tunisia) and the CRC-Marineland (Center of Research on the Cetacean Antibes, France) achieved a second prospecting campaign from the first to May 28, 2003. This campaign, baptized « ASPIS 2003 », concerned the zone of the 15 MN of Kélibia to Zarzis, in the east and the south of the country. The north zone has not been prospected practically following bad weather. The density of the common bottlenose dolphin <Tursiops truncates> has been estimated to 0,19 animals/km2, with a coefficient of variation of 33%. The valued strength for the whole of the studied zone is 3977 dolphins, with a relatively large confidence interval, of 1982 to 7584 animal. The relative abundance of the bottlenose dolphin was 0,1383 individuals/km. The species was however abundant in the Monastirs-Chebba and the Gabes gulf zones. In the zone of the Cap Bon, the relative abundance was relatively weak compared to the other zones.