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Listening in on the Underwater World Underwater passive acoustic monitoring is a powerful tool for studying the lives of marine animals. This technique provides continuous information about underwater soundscapes and animal presence, complementing traditional methods of studying aquatic animal movements, residency, habitat use, communication and other behavior. Since 2015,
Since 1970, we’ve been studying Sarasota Bay’s dolphin community — getting to know their lineages, their companions and even their favorite hangouts. But understanding the dynamics of a population of animals also includes understanding how they interact with their environment, especially learning about the types of food they prefer, the places where they find
Feeling the Heat During a Hot Summer People around the world are feeling extreme heat this summer and we’re receiving a lot of questions about what the heat might mean for dolphins. In 2010, we wrote an article about potential impacts of climate disruption on the resident dolphins of Sarasota Bay. We thought
Dolphin F165 Stats Name: F165 Sex: Female Age: Born 1999 A Dolphin's Life We first observed F165 as a calf in 1999. Since then, we've recorded 628 sightings of her. Her own mother, FB75, died during a bad red tide in
If they are what they eat, what are dolphins eating? Thanks to our long-term studies — including seasonal fish surveys — we know what the most common prey fish are in Sarasota Bay dolphin diets. But how do their diets change during events like red tides? SDRP’s Theresa Tatom-Naecker is testing a technique called
The Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has documented 22 dolphin births in 2021 to the long-term resident bottlenose dolphin community of Sarasota Bay, Florida, exceeding the record of 21 set in 2017. The newest calf was first observed with its mother, known as Squarenotch, on Dec. 2. Forty-four-year-old Squarenotch
When the Prey is Gone Gaining a fuller understanding of dolphins also means studying how they interact with their environment, including learning about one of the main ecological drivers for their behavior: prey availability. A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science has taken the first step in identifying how
Seagrass Matters This summer (2021), we've continued our purse-seine catch-and-release fish surveys in Sarasota Bay. These surveys, conducted seasonally since 2004, allow us to gain an indication of the relative abundance of fish in Sarasota Bay — important information for understanding one of dolphins’ main ecological drivers: their prey. Our
We're working to create a Bottlenose Epigenetic Aging Tool (BEAT) that will allow us to use small skin samples to determine the age of dolphins. First, what is epigenetics? These are various modifications and molecules that occur on or interact with DNA to influence gene activity and phenotype without changing the DNA sequence. Epigenetic changes
Dolphin F178 Stats Name: F178, also known as Pi Sex: Male Age: Born 1995 A Dolphin's Life Pi is an adult male resident of the Sarasota population, known since birth. His fin is easily recognizable by its nicks and notches. Unfortunately some of those
