Nicks n Notches Online: Check out our new look and our latest dolphin news

Sarasota Dolphin

Research Program

Nicks 'n' Notches Online

A monthly newsletter from the SDRP

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Field & Lab Notes

By Randy Wells, Ph.D., Director

I recently returned from Spain, where I was invited to give a presentation at the Oceanografic in Valencia — the largest aquarium in Europe — about the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program and the value of long-term research to dolphin conservation.

The information that we’ve learned through our studies has proven invaluable in protecting wild dolphin populations — not just here in our home base of Sarasota, but around the world where other dolphin research programs have used our model and the techniques we’ve developed to implement studies of the dolphin populations that live in their own backyards.

Each year, our studies lead to new information about dolphins and their lives, and our continued studies have helped us establish that not only are dolphins fascinating animals, they’re also an important indicator of the health of the local ecosystem. If dolphins suffer from degraded habitats and shrinking food sources, so shall we. After all, we breathe the same air and swim and fish in the same waters.

Throughout our 47-year history, the SDRP has often been a test-bed for developing new ways to study dolphins. For example, we refined fin recognition techniques using photographs and today we’re developing software to automate the identification process. In recent years, we have begun to incorporate aerial drones into our research. We have led an effort to begin to wire the bay for sound, developing a network of acoustic recording stations around the bay to be able listen in on dolphin whistles and other sounds, and the sounds of their prey fish and boat traffic at sites of interest.

We’ve also been a test bed for developing dolphin tags that allow us to follow dolphins at sea. These tags have helped us learn how deep and how long dolphins dive and uncover new information about their movements and behavior patterns.

This year, we’re working to develop new techniques that will allow us to go further afield — to study offshore dolphin populations in more detail than ever before. As part of that research, we will need to purchase six satellite-linked tags so we can track these offshore animals. Each tag provides information on location, dive duration and dive depth. The tags will transmit data for several months before automatically detaching from the dolphin’s fin.

Our hope is to raise the funds we need to purchase these tags during the May 1-2 Giving Challenge. Each unique donation (from $25 to $100) made during the Challenge will be matched 100 percent by the Patterson Foundation. The tags are $3,600 apiece, and they provide a window into the lives of the dolphins for several months.

Please mark your calendar if you’re able to make a donation and know that you’ll be helping to make a positive difference in the lives of dolphins.

Here’s to fair winds & following seas!

Randy Wells

You can

BE THE ONE

to make a difference in the lives of dolphins

On May 1 & 2, the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program will participate in The Giving Challenge, presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County with giving strengthened by The Patterson Foundation.

From noon to noon during the biggest giving event in Southwest Florida, each donor to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program can be the one to make a positive difference in the lives of dolphins in our community and around the world.

Every unique donation of $25 to $100 to dolphins will be matched 1-to-1 by the Patterson Foundation — doubling the impact of your giving.

Make donations online between noon on May 1 and noon on May 2.
To learn more about the SDRP’s mission, view our Giving Partner Profile

Fin of the Month

Name: F286

Age: 6

Sex: Male

A Dolphin’s Life: F286 has been observed more than 200 times since his birth in June 2012. With the exception of December 2016, he has been seen in every month of every year, highlighting the year-round, multi-year residency of the dolphins born in Sarasota Bay.

F286 is the first calf of Eve and the first observed grand-calf of Nicklo, the oldest known bottlenose dolphin in the world.

With the birth of his younger sibling in summer 2017, F286 has moved away from his mother and entered his juvenile life stage. As time passes and he matures, he will range further and interact with more dolphins, especially other juveniles. He will likely form a pair bond with another non-related male of a similar age and the two of them will take on the challenges of everyday dolphin life together — feeding, breeding, socializing and dealing with the threats presented by human activities.

Research, Conservation

and Education Since 1970

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.