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November 2015 - In This Issue:
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Welcome to Nicks 'n' Notches Online, the enewsletter of the
Sarasota Dolphin Research Program.
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RESEARCH, CONSERVATION
AND EDUCATION SINCE 1970.
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The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) is a collaboration 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 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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Nicks 'n' Notches in Print
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 We recently wrapped up the print version of our annual publication Nicks 'n' Notches, which provides a year-end overview of our dolphin research worldwide.
If you've previously requested a print copy, you should be receiving it soon. The publication, along with our previous annual reports, is also available on our website as a PDF download.
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Notes from the Field and Lab...
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Randall Wells, Ph.D., Director
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If you're in the Florida Panhandle or living along the state's Southwest coast, you've probably heard that we have red tide percolating in the Gulf of Mexico right now.  Florida red tide is a higher-than-normal concentration of a naturally occurring, microscopic algae called
Karenia brevis, often abbreviated as
K. brevis. It produces brevetoxins -- powerful and potent neurotoxins -- that can kill marine animals and be harmful to humans.
Red tide has been patchy alongshore with effects appearing on and off alongshore, but has been extensive inside Sarasota Bay. It's always good to be aware of current beach conditions because red tides can cause respiratory irritation in humans and can be especially harmful for people with chronic lung conditions like asthma & COPD. (See helpful red tide links for humans.)
But did you know that red tides also affect dolphins?
The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program was among the first dolphin research groups to establish a long-term prey monitoring program to track changes in prey abundance and diversity in relation to dolphins. As a result, we were the first to quantitatively document changes to an estuarine fish community from a severe red tide harmful algal bloom, including dramatic declines in fish abundance (greater than 90 percent for some dolphin prey species), changes in size classes, species diversity and community structure, recovery times and the apparent responses by resident dolphins to changes in prey availability.
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| A mother and calf in Sarasota Bay during a red tide fish kill. |
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We found that following a severe red tide in 2005-06, Sarasota Bay dolphins altered their ranging and social patterns and began interacting with anglers with increasing frequency, with increased mortality from ingestion of fishing gear while trying to take bait or catch from lines. In 2006, two percent of the members of the resident dolphin community died from interactions with recreational fishing gear.
As part of our prey monitoring work, we collect twice-monthly water
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| Sarasota Dolphin Research Program staff use a seine net to capture fish as part of a study on dolphin prey. |
samples from 10 fixed stations throughout Sarasota Bay so they can be tested for K. brevis. We also collect samples from another 30 winter and 40 summer purse-seining sites in Sarasota Bay, which helps us correlate fish abundance with red tide cell counts. The cell counts that we gather help support a joint red tide monitoring program conducted by Florida's Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and Mote Marine Laboratory.
In addition to the changes we've noted in the behavior of dolphins during a red tide, a recent investigation looked at whether dolphins that are more frequently exposed to Florida red tide events have genetic variations that allow them to better survive their exposure to the brevetoxins produced by K. brevis. As part of her Duke University doctoral program, Kristina Cammen (now at the University of Maine) worked with the SDRP to identify genes that could possibly help dolphins survive brevetoxin exposure. While the initial findings are intriguing, more work remains to be done.
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If you're interested in learning more about this research, here are a few related articles and publications about red tide and dolphins:
And for more information on red tides and harmful algal blooms, please see A Primer on Gulf of Mexico Harmful Algal Blooms: Common Questions and Answers for Stakeholders, Decision Makers, Coastal Managers and the Education Community by authors from NOAA, FWC, Mote Marine Lab and the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS). |
Helpful Red Tide Links for Humans
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- Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Red Tide Status Updates: FWC reports on the current status of Karenia brevis blooms using tables, static maps and interactive Google Earth maps.
- Mote Marine Laboratory's Beach Conditions Report: See whether the beach you're planning to visit is currently affected by red tide. Covers 28 beaches along Florida's Southwest Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle.
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Deepwater Oil Spill Investigation Update & Links
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On October 5, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice lodged a consent decree as part of a proposed $20 billion comprehensive settlement among BP, the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of federal agencies, and the five affected Gulf States to resolve liabilities arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As part of this settlement agreement a draft Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS) was released documenting impacts from the oil spill and proposed restoration to address the natural resource damages.
Results of data analyses involving injury to dolphin populations are included in the PDARP/PEIS (see links below), and findings from numerous studies are being prepared for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) has played a role in this investigation. Our long-term research in Sarasota Bay has provided crucial reference data on dolphin health, life history, and population dynamics, for comparison with data from oiled sites in the northern Gulf, including Barataria Bay, Louisiana, and Mississippi Sound. The SDRP was responsible for tagging and tracking dolphins in Barataria Bay and Mississippi Sound to determine their ranging patterns. Our findings of remarkably strong site fidelity for Barataria Bay dolphins have been prepared for a manuscript for publication, and will be presented at the Society for Marine Mammalogy's Biennial Conference in San Francisco in December 2015.
For more information on the settlement, please see:
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| Pi, son of Pumpkin. Happy Thanksgiving! |
AGE: 20
SEX: Male
A DOLPHIN'S LIFE: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we selected Pi (son of Pumpkin) as our fin of the month. Pi is an adult male resident of the Sarasota population, known since birth. His fin is easily recognizable by its nicks and notches. Unfortunately some of those notches were caused by a boat strike. Pi's mother and his closest associate, Noah, also suffered boat strike injuries to their dorsal fins. Sadly, his sister, Seed, was hit and killed by a boat during the severe red tide in 2005. Pi and his family tend to frequent shallow waters, where it is impossible for them to dive beneath approaching boats. Pi and his family serve as a reminder to be careful when boating near wildlife as we are visitors in their home.
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Dolphin Biology Research Institute (DBA Sarasota Dolphin Research Program)
is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to research and conservation of dolphins and their habitat. Employer Identification No. 59-2288387; Florida Charitable Contributions Solicitations Registration No. CH1172. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL FLORIDA REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR AT WWW.FRESHFROMFLORIDA.COM. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. THIS ORGANIZATION RETAINS 100% OF ALL CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED.
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STAY CONNECTED
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