It is challenging to collect robust, long-term datasets to properly monitor the viability and social structure of large, long-lived mammals, especially marine mammals. The present study uses a unique long-term dataset collected by ecotours to investigate population parameters and social structure of a poorly studied population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in southern Port Phillip Bay, south-eastern Australia. Photo-IDs were collected for 10 years, processed through the online platform Flukebook, and used in Capture Recapture models to investigate demographic parameters. The social structure of the population and reproductive parameters were investigated as well. The population abundance in southern Port Phillip was found stable at a mean of 45 individuals over the decade. The inter-birth interval resulted in 3.7 years, and the calving rate ranged between 0.06 – 0.19. The population showed a fission-fusion structure, and it was not divided into clusters. The stability of the population over 10 years suggests that neither anthropogenic nor environmental factors are negatively impacting it. The robust results obtained in the present study and their similarity to those of other populations worldwide, highlight the importance and reliability of collecting photo-IDs by involving ecotours in southern Port Phillip Bay, and the need to continue this collaboration.
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