Dolphins of the Amazon River How Sotalia fluviatilis and Inia geoffrensis coexist in their habitat
Dolphins of the Amazon River: How Sotalia fluviatilis and Inia geoffrensis coexist in their habitat The Amazon River and its lush, beautiful forest are surely among the most amazing ecosystems in the world. The ever-present, primordial cacophony that echoed in my ears as I stood breathlessly watching saddle-backed tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis) leap from tree to tree is what I will forever crave to hear again. As a biology student, I have always read about the "great biodiversity" of the neotropics, as the importance of habitat conservation and protection is beaten into my brain at every turn. Of course, as a naturalist, I agree with the prevailing opinion of today that our world is in dire need of help. However, I couldn't appreciate the true beauty and magic of the tropical Amazon until I was literally swimming in the middle of it, breathing in the wet, fragrant air and seeing the misting, puffing backs of the pink river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) circling around me. As a lover of all cetaceans, I was very interested in learning more about the dolphins of the Amazon River, but it was a surprise to find that the pink river dolphins (also
How delicate, yet strong and flexible, Nature is! Bibliography Works CitedBorobia, Monica et al. The tucuxis are characteristic of deep, open waters; so characteristic, in fact, "that river pilots rely on observing them for navigational aids (Krichner 206). Their body designs allow for different feeding methods; for example, the pink dolphins' flexible neck as well as the ability to paddle forward with one flipper and backwards with another gives it more maneuverability in the flooded forests, where the trees and other vegetation can be dense (Morell 29). "Pink Dolphins Could Lose Their Charm: Superstitions Help Protect the Amazon River Dolphins. Borobia hypothesizes that the two forms, which vary for the most part in size, may be due to temperature differences, so that the marine form, as it inhabits colder seasonal temperatures than its riverine counterpart, is the larger of the two (1035). "Botos, Tucuxis, and their Life in the Amazon: River Dolphins in their Natural Habitat. This also explains why the boto has a much more varied diet than the tucuxi: it has evolved to survive in the Amazon River, changing its diet along with the greatly speciating fishes. "Distribution of the South American dolphin Sotalia fluviatilis. Botos will eat almost any kind of fish; Vera da Silva, biologist and boto researcher, "found that they prey on nearly 50 species from 19 families (Morell 29). Choice of prey is another difference between the two species. Princeton University Press; Princeton, NJ, 1997.
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