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Hourglass Dolphins Lab Report

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Does the amount of blubber an Hourglass Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus cruciger, has depend on the environment it inhabits?

Introduction
Lagenorhynchus cruciger, also known as the Hourglass Dolphin, is a small dolphin found in the Antarctic and Sub Antarctic waters, which tend to be anywhere between -2 and 10 degrees celsius in temperature. As mammals, they are warm-blooded, produce milk, give birth and take care of their young. The Hourglass Dolphin is black and white in colour, with some shades of grey, this pattern resembles an hourglass. They feed on mainly fish, squid and crustaceans.
Currently it is estimated that there are 140, 000 Hourglass Dolphins inhabiting the Antarctic region. Little data has been recorded on this species, however …show more content…

Hourglass Dolphins inhabit different regions of the Antarctic and Subantarctic waters, which have different temperatures. Dolphins can usually be differentiated into two groups, one group prefers to stay in shallow coastal waters, while the other inhabits deeper and colder waters away from shore (N. Dellabianca 2012). According to my hypothesis, this would mean that these two groups will differ in the amount of blubber they have as the temperatures of those two environments are different. The most noninvasive way to measure the amount of blubber is to use ultrasound (M. Moore 2001). By using a long pole, an ultrasound probe can be put on the dolphins back. The probe will send signals back to the boat and data can be collected. Hourglass Dolphins usually travel in groups of 5-10, therefore multiple measurements can be made within one group, and this group is expected to have similar amounts of blubber as they travel together. The water temperature of the region the Hourglass Dolphins are found in will be recored. This will be repeated in different parts of the Antarctic ocean, to see how if the amount of blubber increases in colder waters. Initially, data will be collected closer to the coast where the water temperature is warmer and then I would move further away from the shore. After the data is collected, a graph of water temperature and amount of blubber will be

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