These posts are about dolphin behavior studies conducted by the SDRP.
TADpole Breaks New Ground in Spinner Dolphin Studies During field work in O'ahu, Hawaii in earlier this summer (2025), SDRP collaborated with Robin Baird of Cascadia Research Collective to deploy satellite-linked tags on spinner dolphins. This was the first time this species has been tracked with satellite-linked tags — a feat made
June 2024 Offshore Dolphin Research Update Since 2022, we’ve been conducting health assessments of offshore dolphins to gather data needed to address critical information gaps for the little-known species that regularly inhabit west Florida’s continental shelf waters. In May 2024, we conducted the final field session of our Florida RESTORE Act Centers of
Playful Young Male Dolphins in Western Australia Grow Up to Have More Offspring Photo by Shark Bay Dolphin Research As humans, we grow up playing with other children. Animals of many species likewise play with their peers. But why? Play has its costs, especially for young animals. It uses energy
High-resolution data-loggers reveal fine-scale movement and foraging behavior of offshore dolphins “Bill,” an Atlantic spotted dolphin, with a satellite-linked tag on his dorsal fin and DTAG on his back upon release in September 2022. During offshore health assessments in September 2022, we deployed digital-acoustic archival tags (DTAGs) via suction cups on
Evidence of consistent individual differences (IDs) in behavior, indicative of individual personalities (also referred as behavioral types or coping strategies), has been demonstrated across the animal kingdom from mollusks to mammals. "Who" an individual is will impact how they handle challenges, react to stressors, select mates and ultimately how successful they are in reproduction
What is animal residency and how do we define and measure it? In marine mammal research, residency is often used to describe the place that animals (or groups of animals) occupy in a given geographic space over a long period of time. In fact, the SDRP made the discovery that bottlenose dolphins can form
Did you know that stingrays are dolphin neighbors? They share share shallow seagrass habitat in Sarasota Bay where they forage for food. Dolphins are even occasionally "barbed" by the stingray's venomous spine. These spines can also break off in the dolphins, causing injury or even death. Mote Marine Laboratory's Strandings Investigation Program determined that
Dolphins & Hurricanes One question we’re frequently asked is what dolphins do during hurricanes. The short answer is that we just don’t know. Since it’s not safe for humans on boats to be out during storms, we have to rely on opportunistic reports for insights. A few years ago, we
