Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are a species that form complex fission-fusion societies wherein acoustic communication plays an important role in conveying information. They mainly produce whistles, burst-pulsed sounds, and clicks. Here we focused on the whistles of these dolphins which can vary due to behavioural, environmental, social, and anthropogenic factors. The goal of the current study was to (a) describe the different whistle types produced by the bottlenose dolphins in Montenegro, to see if they are associated with any behaviour and (b) to see if there was an association between the different whistle characteristics and the behaviours. Data was collected using boat-based surveys over a span of 2 years in the Bay of Kotor situated along the northern coastline of Montenegro, South Adriatic. The results here suggested that rise whistle types are associated with traveling and modulated whistle types with diving and socialising. A significant association was also found between the whistle characteristics and behaviour with the significant variables being low frequency, high frequency, start frequency and duration of the whistle. This study being preliminary in nature gives us an insight into the acoustic repertoire of bottlenose dolphins in Montenegro, an understudied region in the southern Adriatic Sea.
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