RESEARCH, CONSERVATION
AND EDUCATION SINCE 1970.
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| The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) is a collaborative partnership dedicated to dolphin research, conservation and education. It began in 1970 at Mote Marine Laboratory when Blair Irvine and high school student Randy Wells began a tagging study to find out if dolphins on Florida's central west coast from southern Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor remained in the area or traveled more widely. Our discovery of long-term residency set the stage for all of our future efforts, by demonstrating opportunities to study individually identifiable dolphins throughout their lives.
Two of the dolphins first identified in 1970-71 have been seen in 2015, and we are currently observing dolphins up to age 65, including members of up to five concurrent generations. Our dolphin research, conservation, and education work is conducted under the umbrella name "Sarasota Dolphin Research Program." This name links the efforts of several organizations and individuals that work together to ensure the continuity of our long-term dolphin efforts in Sarasota Bay and elsewhere.
The SDRP has been operated by the Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) since 1989.
"Dolphin Biology Research Institute," is a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982. It provides logistical support with its fleet of six small research vessels, two towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc.
Since 1992, the program has been based at Mote Marine Laboratory on City Island in Sarasota Bay, with office, lab, storage and dock space and easy access to boat launching ramps within the home range of the Sarasota Bay resident dolphins.
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Celebrating our 45th Year...
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Randall Wells, Ph.D., Director
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Today marks the 45th anniversary of the day Dr. Blair Irvine and I first tagged Sarasota Bay dolphins as part of a pilot project to determine whether the dolphins  in Sarasota Bay were residents in the area, and if so, whether they lived here year 'round. Blair had arranged to tag dolphins from Charlotte Harbor to south Tampa Bay and he took his high school assistant -- me -- along on the tagging expeditions.
We did indeed identify a year-round, long-term, resident population, which set the stage for what has become the world's longest-running study of a wild dolphin population. The initial tagging study -- which began on Oct. 3, 1970 -- has since led to our ongoing studies of individual dolphins that could be identified from markings on their fins or bodies.
Today, we know the Sarasota Bay resident dolphin community consists of about 165 dolphins, spanning as many as five concurrent generations and includes individuals up to age 65. This year, we've documented 13 new calves in the community. Among the current residents are also two males that we originally tagged during the 1970-71 pilot study: 52-yr-old F154 and 50-yr-old FB28, the oldest documented male bottlenose dolphins.
When we started, we had no idea that our research would continue. But the more we learned about the resident cast of characters, the more we appreciated the valuable opportunity to follow these animals through time. We had no inkling back then that we would one day be studying the dolphins' health, life history, behavior, ecology, communication and the effects that human activities have on them. Or that because of this long-term research, the Sarasota Bay dolphins would become a crucial reference population for comparative studies of the health of other dolphin populations.
Important examples are found in studies being conducted today by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). One study is investigating the health of dolphin populations impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, another is looking at the effects of pollution on a resident population of dolphins in Georgia. Still other studies are able to use information about the Sarasota dolphin population in investigations into unusual mortality events (strandings that are unexpected, involve a significant die-off of a marine mammal population and need an immediate response).
Over the years, research involving the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has also resulted in hundreds of scientific publications, served as the basis for more than 60 graduate student theses or dissertation projects and has provided training opportunities for hundreds of college interns and international colleagues. We've documented human impacts on dolphin populations and helped to provide wildlife management agencies and the public with information that will help lessen human impacts on dolphins worldwide.
Ongoing research efforts by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program are conducted through the Chicago Zoological Society and are based at Mote Marine Laboratory. But our research would not be possible without the support of many donors and volunteers who have worked with us over the last 45 years to help uncover and unlock the many mysteries of dolphin lives.
Today, on our anniversary, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for your interest in and support of our work. I hope you have enjoyed our journey and are looking forward to what we will find in the next 45 years!
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