Common bottlenose dolphin

Photo: Beatriz · © all rights reserved

Bottlenose dolphins in the Azores are organised into distinct resident and transient populations, with the inter-island channel resident pod numbering over 200 individuals that researchers have tracked by dorsal fin ID since the 1990s. Resident groups develop highly site-specific foraging strategies, including shallow-reef hunting tactics not seen in open-ocean populations. Their interaction with sperm whale foraging grounds is an active research area, with dolphins observed following whale dive sequences.