Abstract
With the exception of primates, detailed interspecies behavioral studies are rare in mammalian species and for cetaceans, most are anecdotal descriptions. This study is the first long‐term study on interspecies associations of regularly interacting groups. In the Bahamas Atlantic bottlenose ( Tursiops truncatus ) and spotted dolphins ( Stenella frontalis ) regularly form mixed species encounters ( MSE ). Both species show strong site fidelity with high resighting rates. During MSE , the majority (>65%) of spotted dolphins (especially males) were continually resighted; however bottlenose dolphins had comparatively low resighting rates ( MSE group size was significantly larger for spotted dolphins (13.0 ± 11.0) than bottlenose dolphins (4.8 ± 3.5) ( F = 93.803, df = 1, P t ‐test, t = 4.75, df = 184, P