January 2012 The overarching goal of this collaborative project is to develop indicators and methods to quantify chronic stress in bottlenose dolphins. Much research has focused on the stimuli which induce stress in marine mammals as well as the hormonal mediators of the stress response. Stress may be induced by a variety factors, including noise, [...]

Ultrasound examination is a useful, non-invasive way to rapidly evaluate organ health in animals and humans. Marine mammal veterinarians are using ultrasound with dolphins for routine physical exams, diagnosis of disease, and disease monitoring. In order to accurately assess health and disease, there is a need to standardize ultrasound techniques. The clinical team of the [...]

For the second consecutive year, the 2011  dolphin health assessment project in Sarasota proved to be pivotal in our study of bubbles that can surround the kidney of dolphins. With support from the Office of Naval Research we have been examining stranded dolphins on the beaches of Cape Cod for the presence of bubbles. The [...]

Bottlenose dolphin health assessments offer valuable insights into the condition and status of wild individuals and populations. However, the capture-release efforts of such health assessments require a restrictive set of conditions to be conducted safely, and they are expensive and logistically complex. A quicker and easier means of obtaining preliminary information on the health of [...]

During health assessment sessions in 2010 we began a new set of playback experiments to begin looking at whether dolphins discriminate between signature whistles produced by the owner-dolphin vs. copies of these whistles that are produced by another dolphin. We experimented with a new playback design, the habituation-dishabituation design, in which we played back a [...]

NOAA recently completed a dolphin health assessment project in Barataria Bay, LA, examining and sampling dolphins for possible sub-lethal effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill on bottlenose dolphins. A team of about 50 veterinarians, biologists and wildlife epidemiologists worked together to conduct the comprehensive health evaluations. SDRP Director Randy Wells is a co-investigator [...]

Algae blooms contain neurotoxins that may have chronic effects on the health of bottlenose dolphins. The dinoflagellate Karenia brevis produces neurotoxic brevetoxins, which are known to be harmful to aquatic organisms and humans (as well as local economies). Known as “Florida red tide,” wave action may cause K. brevis cells to burst, releasing the toxins [...]

Ms. Mayhem was given that name because the first time she was captured for tagging, in 1976, because she was decidedly unwilling to cooperate with the researchers. Over the years, when occasionally captured and released during health assessments, she mellowed. She died in 2008 at the age of 54. — Do you have a question [...]