Abstract:
The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), operated by the Chicago Zoological Society and based at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, is dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals. This report summarizes a research project that was conducted by SDRP staff and students, in partnership with collaborating specialists from around the world. The basic research approach involved longitudinal study of individual dolphins through their lives, primarily by means of photographic identification surveys, capture-release for sampling and measurements, biopsy dart sampling, and focal animal behavioral observations. Research under the project was performed from July 2001 through June 2008 and consisted of six major categories of study: population structure, dynamics, and stock identification; health assessment and biomarkers of environmental contaminants and their effects; ecological relationships; human interactions; graduate student research; dissemination of information. Results of the seven year project demonstrated the value of long-term research on dolphins with long life spans and maintaining the continuity of this research is important in the responsible management and conservation of the coastal bottlenose dolphin populations.
