These posts are about the tools and techniques developed, perfected and implemented by the SDRP to study wild dolphin populations.
Using Aerial Drones for Dolphin Research SDRP has a long history of taking to the skies to study dolphins. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a video camera suspended from a tethered blimp was used to get overhead behavioral records of dolphins and manatees. Today, given the sharp rise of
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
This Atlantic spotted dolphin nicknamed Hannah was tagged 45 miles offshore of Sarasota using a new tool we developed. New Tagging Technique Developed in Sarasota Could Impact Dolphins Worldwide If you’ve been following our research, you probably know that we employ a variety of techniques to study the Sarasota Bay dolphin
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
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
This 2008 photo shows researchers preparing to release a tagged franciscana dolphin in Argentina. Dolphins were held for a brief period while satellite-linked tags were applied and then the dolphins were released on site. Lessons Learned in Sarasota Are Applying to Dolphin Conservation in Argentina and Brazil With research
X-ray images (radiographs) of human hands have been used for decades as a method of confirming age by examining the predictable chronological changes occurring to the growth plates of each bone. We wanted to know if using X-rays of dolphin flippers could provide the same information. The goal is to establish a non-invasive method of determining
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
