Sociality and tattoo skin disease among bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia

A 34-year longitudinal study of bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, reveals that social associations with infected individuals significantly increase the risk of developing tattoo skin disease (TSD) in calves. The research demonstrates that calves with TSD in their second year of life were more likely to have associated with TSD-positive dolphins during their first year, unlike those without TSD. While metrics such as degree, time spent socializing, and group size did not show significant differences between infected and uninfected groups, the study highlights the epidemiological relevance of social network links in disease transmission. This finding underscores the potential of using social association networks to study the spread of skin diseases in bottlenose dolphins.

Powell, S. N., Wallen, M. M., Miketa, M. L., Krzyszczyk, E., Foroughirad, V., Bansal, S., & Mann, J. (2019). Sociality and tattoo skin disease among bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia. Behavioral Ecology, 31(2), 459–466. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz207