Conservation research, education, and training are among the core activities of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. Professional training, especially as it relates to conservation capacity building, is an important aspect of our program’s mission and that of its parent division of the Chicago Zoological Society, the Conservation, Education, and Training group. The year 2011 provided [...]

Our lives are full of dreams. Some come true, and others remain on a list. My dream to develop AquaMarina as a team to run marine conservation action based in science in my country, Argentina, followed the typical process from a wish to a challenge. Established in 1998 as a non-profit organization, its mission has [...]

I was fortunate to start working on conservation very early in my (short) career. It all started in Argentina in the mid-nineties, during my undergraduate studies, when Pablo Bordino took me in as an intern to do Franciscana dolphin behavior and conservation work with AquaMarina. These were my first conservation lessons at a time when [...]

I am from Argentina.  I am a member of the AquaMarina team, a group of biologists, students and fishermen working together on different projects in marine biology. In 2005, some members of the SDRP went to Argentina to help us with our Radio Tracking Franciscana Dolphin Project. It was a challenge for all, because it [...]

Coastal areas where Franciscana dolphins live, such as Babitonga Bay, are highly threatened by coastal development and pollution along in Brazil. The construction of harbors, dredging, and the growth of cities with the associated destruction of coastal ecosystems and industrial and urban pollution, along with boat traffic and noise pollution, have been increasing in recent [...]

Franciscana dolphin: Southern Brazil Signals continued to be received through the end of November from two of the five Franciscana dolphins tagged with satellite-linked tags. The dolphins are exhibiting a very high degree of residency to a very small area within the bay. These highly endangered dolphins were tagged as part of a tri-national (Brazil-Argentina-USA) [...]

5 endangered Franciscana dolphins were captured, tagged and released, by a tri-national team of veterinarians and conservation scientists in Babitonga Bay, Brazil. The dolphins are being tracked with satellite-linked transmitters to learn about their activities, dive patterns, and range in Southern Brazil. This is important new information because Franciscana dolphins are threatened by coastal development, [...]

SDRP Staff are off to Babitonga Bay, Brazil to tag endangered Franciscana dolphins in a tri-national conservation capacity-building effort. Franciscana dolphins are only found in 3 countries, and this is the first attempt to tag them in Brazil. They are known to be threatened by gillnets throughout their range, but little is known about their [...]