Simulations of Dolphin Behaviour and Motivations in Response to Disturbance

These data sets are the results of simulations exploring
dolphins’ potential response to disturbance caused by whale watching vessels
and record individual group membership, behaviour (Traveling [1], Resting [2],
Feeding [3] and Socialising [4]) and motivations (Hunger [1], Fear [2], Social needs
[3] and body condition [4]). The first part of the file name refers to the
population being simulated: “DS” refers to a population of 61 dolphins in
Doubtful Sound, New Zealand that is closed and food limited, “DSA” refers to a
population of 350 individuals from Durban Bay, South Africa that is open and
not food limited, “JB” refers to a population of 108 individuals from Jervis
Bay, Australia that is open and food limited, and “SB” refers to a population
of 160 dolphins from Sarasota Bay, USA that is closed and not food limited. The
second part of the file name refers to the type of data recorded: “GB” means
the file contains the records for group membership and behaviour, and “Mot”
means the file contains the records for the individual motivations. The number
at the end of the file name references the level of disturbance used in the
simulation: “0” for no change of disturbance, “1” for a 10% chance of
disturbance, “25” for a 25% chance of disturbance and “5” for a 50% chance of disturbance.
For all populations, the simulations were run 100 times, and the length of each
simulation was 365 days.