Social Organisation & Behaviour
Echolocation in Chinese White Dolphins
Diet of Chinese White Dolphins
Group size
Chinese White Dolphins typically do not maintain constant associations with one another, except for mothers and their young calves. Their social structure is fluid, resulting in frequent changes in group composition. While groups can consist of up to over 20 individuals, the average group size usually ranges from 3 to 4 dolphins.
Echolocation in Chinese White Dolphins
Chinese White Dolphins utilize echolocation by producing and receiving high-frequency sounds that serve as signals for finding food, navigation and communication. They create distinctive whistling and clicking sounds using their specialized phonic lips located in their nasal passage below the blowhole. Their sounds are used for social interaction, family identification, and target detection. For example, when a CWD receives reflected sound signals from prey, it approaches the target and uses its teeth to capture the fish.
Diet of Chinese White Dolphins
Chinese White Dolphins have been found to consume a minimum of 20 fish species from 13 families, with the most significant families being Engraulidae, Sciaenidae, and Clupeidae. The most common and numerically important prey species include lion-head fish (Collichthys lucida), various croakers (Johnius spp.), and anchovies (Thryssa spp.), all of which are associated with estuarine habitats.
Diving Behavior
The majority of Chinese White Dolphins groups dive for less than one minute, with dive durations ranging from 10 to 277 seconds.