DNA tests helping to save NZ dolphins

A bottlenose dolphin off the coast of Whakatane.

Research which analyses the DNA of New Zealand bottlenose dolphins may help with the long-term conservation of the species.

Gabriela de Tezanos Pinto, a PhD student based at the University of Auckland's School of Biological Sciences, said analysis of DNA would reveal if there were any connections between different populations of dolphins in New Zealand and around the Pacific Ocean and help with the management of the dolphins.

Three small and isolated populations had been identified in the coastal waters of New Zealand - Northland, Marlborough Sound and Fiordland.

"Compared with other dolphin populations in New Zealand, such as the dusky and Hector's dolphins, bottlenoses are less abundant, are more isolated and have lower rates of reproduction," Ms Pinto said.

This was a concern because the ability of a population to adapt and evolve to environmental change was determined by genetic evidence variation and the more variability in a gene pool the easier it was to adapt, evolve and survive, she said.

"Before my research, we didn't know whether bottlenose dolphins represented one single robust population with individuals moving from one place to the other or whether they were three isolated and vulnerable populations. This is an important question for the long-term management of the species in New Zealand."

The number of dolphins that were actively reproducing in Doubtful Sound was expected to be only about 20, fewer than the number of reproducing kakapo.

While the kakapo and Hector's dolphin had received a lot of attention and funding for conservation efforts because they were New Zealand native species, bottlenose dolphins could be found elsewhere in the world, she said.

"What is being overlooked is that New Zealand's bottlenose dolphins have certain special characteristics which make them different from other populations in the world, and they need to be protected."

The three NZ populations were ecologically different from each other, and how the dolphins have adapted was intriguing, she said.

- NZPA