Striped dolphin2/27/2023 ![]() ![]() The striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen 1833) (Cetartiodactyla, Delphinidae), has a wide distribution, from tropical to warm-temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as many adjacent seas, including the Mediterranean (Braulik 2019). The results reported here can be useful for future research aimed at understanding population structure, mortality patterns and the effects of anthropogenic activity on the survival of this species in this marine area. Our study provides information toward understanding the demographic traits of S. Furthermore, a comparison with the estimated age of striped dolphins from other Mediterranean marine areas shows that the longevity of the individuals examined in this study is much lower. The high frequency (28%) of calves strongly suggests that females of this species use the marine area all around the south-western Italian coasts to give birth to their offspring. coeruleoalba male growth trajectories are partly in accordance with those reported in other studies on the same species from different Mediterranean areas. Growth curve estimated using the Gompertz growth model (GGM) showed that in S. ![]() The oldest male and female individuals were 19 and 14 years old, respectively. Seven individuals, with TL of 100–110 cm, were calves under 1 year old. Based on counts of growth layer groups in sections of decalcified teeth using the paraffin technique, we estimated the age and growth of 25 individuals of striped dolphin ( Stenella coeruleoalba) found dead stranded along the coast of Campania and Calabria (south Italy, central-western Mediterranean) from 2013 to 2018. The knowledge of demographic traits such as longevity, growth rates and age at sexual maturity is crucial for understanding the structure of a population in its natural environment and implementing appropriate strategies for its management and conservation. ![]()
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