Kymbr L. Wright; Dr. Stan Kuczaj: The Effects of Time of Day on Mother-Infant Association Patterns of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Captivity

Behavioral data on association patternsbetween mothers and their infants are spares. This study compares the behavioral patterns of four mother-infant pairs over a two-month period. The data was collected using instantaneous sampling over a 24hour period at Marine Life Oceanarium. The preliminary analysis of these data indicate a significant difference (Chi Squared, p>0.05) between nocturnal and diurnal association patterns. This difference is based on the fact that infants spend more time with their mothers at night than duriong the day.