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Sarasota Dolphin
Research Program
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Nicks 'n' Notches Online
A monthly newsletter from the SDRP
October 2019
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Field & Lab Notes
By Randy Wells, Ph.D., Director
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Fall is upon us and, as a follower of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program’s exploits in Florida and around the world, I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the 49
th
anniversary of our Program!
On Oct. 3, 1970, Blair Irvine attached the first tags on Sarasota bottlenose dolphins, beginning what is today the world’s longest-running study of a wild dolphin population.
On that day, Blair attached plastic tags to the dorsal fins of a pair of young adult male dolphins in Palma Sola Bay, then released the animals. Although the dolphins shed those early tags fairly quickly, the animals remained recognizable to us
as we began to appreciate the value of natural markings
and were seen together through 1976.
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Tagging Sarasota Bay's first dolphin, nicknamed Norman.
Program founder Blair Irvine is on the left and dolphin catcher Robert Corbin is on the right
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We had no way of knowing it on that first day, but we were beginning to document one of the more interesting aspects of dolphin society, described first for the species in Sarasota Bay: the long-term pair bond between adult males. One of the males disappeared after 1976, but the other, Norman, was seen over the next 31 years, until 2001.
As Blair’s high school research assistant, I was able to accompany him on subsequent tagging and re-sighting trips in 1970 and in the ensuing years. Last weekend, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to get together with Blair and his wife, Barb, in Oregon to reminisce about what happened 49 years ago.
Little did we know then what was to come!
It’s been a pleasure and privilege doing this work over the past 49 years and it would never have begun if Blair and the late Dr. Jesse White, a Miami Seaquarium veterinarian, hadn’t watched a dolphin swim near a Sarasota beach and wondered “Do the dolphins swimming in the area live here year ‘round?”
We’ve certainly come a long way — this year we noted the birth of the first documented representative of a sixth generation of our resident community since our studies began.
And we couldn’t have done it without you! Having supporters who are interested in our mission and invested in seeing it succeed truly makes a difference — not just in staff morale (though it really does matter!) — but in dolphin conservation here at home and around the world.
Thank you for caring about dolphins and for your support over the past 49 years. As we lead up to our official 50
th
Anniversary on Oct. 3, 2020, we’ll be spending the next year sharing our milestones and celebrating our successes. Be sure to watch this space, our Twitter account (
@dolphinsarasota
) and our Facebook page (
facebook.com/SarasotaDolphins/
) for news and highlights!
Here’s to another 49 years of fair winds and following seas!
Randy Wells
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Name:
Norman
Age:
Born in 1957; disappeared in 2001
Sex:
Male
A Dolphin's Life:
Norman was the first dolphin we ever tagged in Sarasota, on Oct. 3, 1970. He was seen 246 times, until July 2001.
When we first met him, he was with another young adult male, F24A, and he continued to be seen with this male into 1976. They were our first example of a strongly bonded male alliance, a fascinating feature of bottlenose dolphin social systems that was first described for the species in Sarasota Bay — a kind of “wing dolphin” relationship.
Over the course of our observations, Norman was paired with three different males. The most enduring association was with Jimmy Durante, a male who was two years younger.
This pair remained together for 20 years and provided important data for at least two doctoral dissertations that examined male pair behavior — by the SDRP’s Director Randy Wells in 1986 and by Edward Owen in 2003.
Norman and Jimmy Durante remained together until Norman disappeared in 2001 at age 44. Paternity tests suggest that Norman was in his breeding prime in the mid-80s, siring FB92 and FB93.
We know he lived through the time before some widespread, persistent, highly toxic environmental pollutants, such as PCBs and DDT, were banned. He had accumulated the highest concentrations of these chemicals of any dolphin measured in Sarasota Bay — more than an order of magnitude higher than most other Sarasota Bay males — and we can’t help but wonder whether these high levels of pollutants might have limited his reproductive potential or his lifespan.
Watching Norman over the years allowed us to gain amazing insights in dolphin behavior and health. His was a remarkable life indeed.
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An Amazing Moment in Our History
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This is one of our favorite images and shows a moment we were amazed to witness.
In this picture is a group of four long-term Sarasota Bay resident mothers and their calves (three born in 2017, one from 2016) entering Big Pass from the Gulf. Did you know that your support enabled us to help three of the four moms?
- During a health assessment in 1988, we removed a stingray barb from the head of the yearling's mother.
- We were among the first responders when Ginger stranded on Siesta Beach in 2008, within sight of where we saw her with her second calf in this picture.
- Nellie, who we rescued and disentangled from plastic line embedded in the skin around her head in 2010, was in the group with her first calf.
Without intervention, it is unlikely that six of these dolphins would have been alive for the photo.
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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 started a pilot tagging study to find out whether dolphins on Florida's central west coast remained in the area or traveled more widely. In 1974, with a contract from the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, they were joined by Michael Scott and expanded the study with radio-telemetry.
Their subsequent discovery of long-term dolphin residency set the stage for today's efforts by demonstrating opportunities to study individually identifiable dolphins throughout their lives in a natural laboratory setting.
Our work is conducted under the name "Sarasota Dolphin Research Program." This name ties together several organizations dedicated to ensuring the continuity of our long-term research, conservation and education 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 research vessels, 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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