Why do these creatures limit their northern and southern excursions? Turns out it's not because of the cold.

Bottlenose dolphins are found in both deep and shallow ocean waters between the latitudes of 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south.  Why are they more or less limited to that geographical distribution.  Well, one obvious postulate is that they don’t do well in cold temperatures.  To test that hypothesis, a team led by the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program investigated the influence of water temperature on the ability of bottlenose dolphins to maintain their core body temperature.  They used a crane scale to monitor the weight of the dolphins, concluding that animals heavier than 187 kg should have no problem handling cold temperatures.

For further information visit www.nefsc.noaa.gov.

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