Habitat
The Stenella clymene is a specific type of dolphin known to many as the shout-snouted spinner dolphin (NOAA Fisheries 2013). The Stenella clymene is considered to be an oceanic species in the marine ecosystem. The marine world is an extremely intricate ecosystem that contains many possible geological habitats that the Stenella clymene and many other organisms are able to inhabit (NOAA Fisheries 2013). The marine world is a complex mystery for mankind because much of it has not been explored yet. This specific kind of dolphin has a widespread distribution in the ocean that it inhabits. Just like many other organisms around the world, the Stenella clymene have a specific niche that they live in for most, if not all, of the organism's lifetime (NOAA Fisheries 2013).
The Stenella clymene can be found throughout the tropical waters of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean (NOAA Fisheries 2013). It is found to be distributed off the United States of America's Atlantic Coast as far north as coast of New Jersey reaching as far south and along the coastlines of the states of Texas and Louisiana (Jefferson and Curry 2003). The Stenella clymene is also found distributed in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Caribbean Sea and also in the middle of the ocean around the continent of Africa (Jefferson and Curry 2003). The Stenella clymene is not found outside of the Atlantic Ocean. This is mainly due to the fact that the Stenella clymene species prefers the tropical and warmer waters (NOAA Fisheries 2013).
Figure 4. A map showing the distribution of the Stenella clymene.
Numerous amounts of this organism's population inhabit the warm waters of the Brazil current and also the Gulf of Mexico stream (Culik 2010). These two areas have streams that contain more tropic and warmer currents of water. Research of stranding records in the Gulf of Mexico show that the Stenella clymene that inhabit this geographical location are most likely year round organisms (Davis and Schimdly 1994). The most common dolphin located in the country of Ghana's waters is the Stenella clymene (Culik 2010).
Many types of dolphins are seen around the shorelines of the ocean but not all. In fact, the Stenella clymene is a little bit different due to the fact that it is one species of dolphins that are not normally sighted near the shore regions (Weir 2006). Many researchers say that this is mainly because the Stenella clymene is a deep water species that is often found to inhabit the lower continental slope leading into the deep water regions of the ocean floor (Weir 2006). They inhabit the depth of the ocean that contains cyclone circulation, the movement of fluid which is rotating in the same direction of the earth (Weir 2006). The standard water depths that the Stenella Clymene inhabits is between 250 to 5000 meters or even deeper (Myers et al 2013).
The Marine ecosystem is full of many different organisms that inhabit and share the habitat of Stenella clymene which is the continental slope and the ocean floor. Some of these organisms include but are not limited to; the giant squid (Architeuthis dux), the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), sea cucumbers (Crinoidea holothuroidea), and the sperm whale (NOAA Fisheries 2013) .
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