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 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 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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We have plenty of things to be thankful for at the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program this year. Among them, our wonderful supporters who help us protect and understand dolphins worldwide. We're also thankful for the dolphins themselves -- and the beauty and intrigue they bring to all of our lives.
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Notes from the Field and Lab...
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Randall Wells, Ph.D., Director
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We recently completed tracking
bottlenose dolphins off Bermuda and rehabbed pygmy killer
 whales released off Mississippi. We've been collaborating on plans to help try to save the most endangered species of porpoise in the world (the vaquita in the upper Gulf of California) from extinction.
Of course, we've also been busy with our Sarasota-based dolphin studies and conservation efforts, including the launch of a new project designed to help engage the people who use our waterways in helping us to protect the dolphins that call them home.
I've asked SDRP scientist Dr. Katie McHugh, who is the primary investigator on the project, to tell you more about that work this month.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Randy Wells
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Helping Dolphins Where They Live
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At the Sarasota Dolphin Research
 Program, we believe our mission goes well beyond just gaining a better understanding of the long-term resident animals of our local bays. We believe it is also vital to dolphin conservation to educate the public about our findings and help them participate in activities that can help protect dolphins in the wild.
Earlier this year, we applied for and received a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund to undertake a new effort educating the groups that are most likely to have an impact on dolphins in the wild. Initially, that means we will be reaching out to local membership-based boating and fishing groups, fishing guides and charter captains, eco-tour operators and naturalists, boat and personal watercraft rental operators and law enforcement agencies.
We chose these groups because they're the people who are most likely to encounter wild dolphins and they also have the best chance of having a positive impact on some of the problems we've observed over the years. In particular, we will concentrate on activities that have been documented to lead to impacts from entanglements and hookings, boat strikes and harassment and we will actively engage stakeholders in best-practices training as well as participation in monitoring and clean-up activities.
Our goal is to educate these stakeholders about what we've learned of the lives and needs of local resident bottlenose dolphins -- in essence, their neighbors -- and engage them to be our conservation partners simply by implementing best practices focused around three main themes:
- Safe boating and fishing near dolphins and other wildlife;
- Preventing wildlife entanglement and hookings through marine debris reduction;
- Effectively documenting and reporting injured animals to facilitate monitoring and intervention.
We think these are all themes that will resonate with stakeholder groups. We also believe that instituting a few best practices will help protect other key wildlife species in our region including manatees, sea turtles and seabirds that are also threatened by human encroachment and marine debris.
We're still formulating our outreach plans, but in the meantime, we're asking for your help in:
- Identifying boating and fishing groups in Sarasota and Manatee counties that would be interested in hosting a speaker from the SDRP in 2017. The speaker would provide information about some of our latest research, along with details about how individuals can institute best practices in their own lives. Please email me group names and, if available, contact information for the group at sdrpinfo@gmail.com.
- Helping to prevent and remove marine debris from the environment -- and tracking your efforts to do so. How? There's a handy app called Marine Debris Tracker --
 available for free on iTunes and GooglePlay -- that can help you. Just download it and start tracking all the trash you pick up while on or near your local waterways. Use the new Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Debris Team list and we will see the difference you're making! According to app developers, thousands of people have logged and removed more than three quarters of a million pieces of litter and debris all over the world since the app was developed in 2010. Learn more about the Marine Debris Tracker and how to participate online.
Please watch this space and our Facebook page for updates about these efforts.
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Marine debris can come in all shapes and sizes -- from trashcans to fishing line and lures. Trash is a non-discriminant killer -- it can affect birds, like this frigate bird found entangled in fishing line -- and other marine life, including dolphins. Pick up trash when you see it in and near our waterways and use the Marine Debris Tracker to tell the world that you took action!
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Name: F248, aka Scrappy
Age: 18
Sex: Male
A Dolphin's Life:
Scrappy, born in 1998, is the calf of Scooby-Doo (who was given her nickname before we knew she was a she). We have sighted Scrappy more than 300 times since his birth but we remember him most for one of our 2006 sightings when we found him entangled in marine debris -- a piece of fabric encircling his body between his blowhole and front fins.
We followed his activities in the wild very closely to see whether he would shed the fabric on his own. After several weeks, when it became apparent the entanglement wasn't going anywhere, we mounted a rescue (with permission of the National Marine Fisheries Service, of course).
While all such interventions are notable, this one was especially so, given what we discovered when we removed the marine debris on Scrappy... turns out, it was a black XL men's Speedo bathing suit -- a find that eventually made its way to the national news, including National Public Radio's quiz show "Wait, Wait - Don't Tell Me."
We're glad to report that we were able to successfully remove the swimsuit, have veterinarians assess his condition on site and send him happily along his way -- swimming in the nude!
We monitored Scrappy closely following his rescue and have continued to observe him over the last decade during our monthly population monitoring surveys. He seems to have fully recovered and returned to normal dolphin life in Sarasota Bay.
Though this event is comical on the surface, the material wrapped around the dolphin was not breaking down; instead it was actually cutting through Scrappy's front fins and would have eventually killed him had we not intervened and disentangled him.
Scrappy's story highlights just how important it is to reduce all types of marine debris -- no matter how innocuous a single piece of trash might seem.
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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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