FEATURED STORY
Oh Baby! Meet the New Dolphins of 2024!
Sarasota Bay dolphins are most likely to give birth in May and June, though dolphins can reproduce throughout the year. We documented the first dolphin calf of 2024 in May. Want to know more about all the new moms and babies of 2024? Click the button to meet them!
A Tangled Food Web
Paper Provides New Insights on How Microplastics are Moving From Prey to Predator A new research paper
GoMDIS: Investigating the Life of a Stranded Dolphin
Dolphin ID Catalog Uncovers Life History of Dolphin Recovered on North Florida Beach In July 2024, Gulf
Dolphin F312 Injured by Boat
Boat Collision Injures Sarasota Bay Dolphin In July 2024, members of the public reported a dolphin with
Offshore Research Update
June 2024 Offshore Dolphin Research Update Since 2022, we’ve been conducting health assessments of offshore dolphins to gather
Dolphin Play and Reproduction
Playful Young Male Dolphins in Western Australia Grow Up to Have More Offspring Photo by
Dolphin Rescue: Roy Kent
Fishing Line Cuts Like a Saw — Rescuing "Roy Kent" Starting in February 2024, we made numerous
Dolphin Rescue: 2615
2615 Rescued from Fishing Line Entanglement During our May 2024 dolphin health assessments, we conducted a disentanglement
Dolphin Conservation Takes a Team Effort
Dolphin conservation is a team effort — from working together to understand dolphins and their communities,
Puzzle — Whoops!
Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzle — Get Off
Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzle — Flying Fish
Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzle — No Passing Zone
Jigsaw Puzzle
Eye in the Sky
Using Aerial Drones for Dolphin Research SDRP has a long history of taking to the
Understanding Offshore Dolphin Behavior
High-resolution data-loggers reveal fine-scale movement and foraging behavior of offshore dolphins “Bill,” an Atlantic spotted dolphin, with a
What’s on the Menu?
Since 1970, we’ve been studying Sarasota Bay’s dolphin community — getting to know their lineages, their companions and even
Notes from the Lab and Field
This Atlantic spotted dolphin nicknamed Hannah was tagged 45 miles offshore of Sarasota using a new tool we developed.
Make Your Labor Day Boat Trip a Labor of Love
As we approach the Labor Day holiday this weekend, why not make it a labor of love for dolphins
Disentangling a Dolphin Near Cedar Key
Disentangling a Cedar Key Dolphin On Aug. 9, 2023, the SDRP partnered with University of Florida Marine Animal
Siesta Key’s “Squirt” the Dolphin
This year (2023) we’ve been getting a lot of questions about a tagged dolphin that people have been seeing
Feeling the Heat
Feeling the Heat During a Hot Summer People around the world are feeling extreme heat this summer and
Offshore Dolphin Health Assessment
On May 17-18, 2023, we tagged and collected biological samples from two bottlenose and two Atlantic spotted dolphins
Dolphin Moms Use ‘Baby Talk’
We’ve all probably done it: Change the pitch and tone of our voices when talking to babies. Now, new
Another Successful Rescue
A Successful Dolphin Rescue Near Marco Island Earlier this month, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received
Leading a Calf Rescue
Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Leads Effort to Rescue Dolphin Calf from Entangled and Embedded Fishing Gear
Intern Opportunity: Eugenie Clark Skills and Leadership
We're pleased to partner once again with Minorities in Shark Science (MISS) and Havenworth Coastal Conservation to offer the
Dolphin Personalities and Conservation
Evidence of consistent individual differences (IDs) in behavior, indicative of individual personalities (also referred as behavioral types or coping
Puzzle Fun — Let’s Play
Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzle Fun — Dolphin Leaps
Jigsaw Puzzle
Dolphins and Microplastics
Study Finds Evidence that Dolphins are Ingesting Microplastics A new study in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Marine
Your Support on Giving Tuesday Makes This Possible
Your Support on Giving Tuesday Makes This Possible As people who regularly follow our research and progress know,
Tracking Offshore Dolphins During Hurricane Ian
We’ve got some exciting news to share about our ongoing efforts to conduct health assessments of offshore dolphins: In
Winter Internship with SDRP: Apply Now
Are you a college student studying marine biology, biology, ecology, zoology, wildlife, fisheries, or a related field and interested
Whistling Away in Sarasota Bay
To record dolphin sounds, we place non-invasive hydrophones mounted on suction cups on a dolphin’s melon (“forehead”) and record
Understanding Animal Residency
What is animal residency and how do we define and measure it? In marine mammal research, residency is often
Identifying Dolphins Throughout the Gulf of Mexico
The CZS-SDRP curates the Gulf of Mexico Dolphin Identification System (GoMDIS), which combines, standardizes, and serves as an online
Barbed! Stingray Spine Injuries
Did you know that stingrays are dolphin neighbors? They share share shallow seagrass habitat in Sarasota Bay where they
Fatty Acid Signatures
If they are what they eat, what are dolphins eating? Thanks to our long-term studies — including seasonal fish
Remembering Two Giants of Marine Mammal Science
SDRP Founder Blair Irvine (left) and Sam Ridgway, 1967. The marine mammal scientific community has
Assessing the Health of Offshore Dolphins
Learn About the First Health Assessment of an Offshore Dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico
Saving Dolphins from Ourselves
We Can All Protect Dolphins from Negative Human Interactions This spring, we saw several negative
DWH: 12 Years On
A Dozen Years After the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, We're Still Documenting Impacts to Dolphins April
Tracking “Dorothy”
What Happens When a Dolphin is Left Behind by a Hurricane? This map shows the
Dolphin Valentines to Share
We love dolphins and know you do too, so we created some printable dolphin cards to share with your
The Story of Misha and Echo
The image shows Misha just prior to being released back into Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1990. Photo by Flip
Learn Field Research Skills
The Eugenie Clark Field Research Skills and Leadership Program New College of Florida is offering paid training experiences in
An Intern’s Perspective
University of Miami student Cassidy Renninger was an SDRP intern during 2021. Here, in her words, was what her
An Intern’s Perspective
Duke University student India Haber was an SDRP intern during 2021. Here, in her words, was what her experience
A Risky Dolphin Rescue
A Risky Dolphin Rescue Near Clearwater Beach, Florida —Notes from the Field from SDRP Director Dr. Randy Wells
Apply Now: Summer Internship
Are you a college student studying marine biology, biology, ecology, zoology, wildlife, fisheries, or a related field and interested
Puzzles by Leaps and Bounds
Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzle It Out!
Jigsaw Puzzle
2021 Baby Boom
The Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has documented 22 dolphin births in 2021 to the long-term resident bottlenose
When the Prey is Gone
When the Prey is Gone Gaining a fuller understanding of dolphins also means studying how they interact with
When Dolphins and Freshwater Mix
What Happens When Dolphins and Freshwater Mix? Prolonged exposure to freshwater is linked to adverse
Exploring Microbiomes
Exploring Microbiomes The science of understanding microbiomes has received increasing attention over the past few
Seagrass Matters
Seagrass Matters This summer (2021), we've continued our purse-seine catch-and-release fish surveys in Sarasota Bay.
Taking Lessons From Sarasota Abroad
This 2008 photo shows researchers preparing to release a tagged franciscana dolphin in Argentina. Dolphins were held for a
Dolphins & Hurricane Season
Dolphins & Hurricanes One question we’re frequently asked is what dolphins do during hurricanes. The
Piney Point Dolphin Entanglement
On April 7 and April 9, 2021, as our team was conducting photographic identification surveys in the area near
What is happening to the dolphins near Piney Point?
What is Happening to the Dolphins Near Piney Point? We're monitoring the dolphin community near Port Manatee for
Crunch! Understanding Eagle Ray Diets
Crunch! Understanding Eagle Ray Diets For the first time, a team of researchers has demonstrated
Uncovering Spotted Eagle Ray Migrations Along Florida’s Coastlines
Uncovering Spotted Eagle Ray Migrations Along Florida’s Coastlines A new study is providing insights into
Short-Finned Pilot Whale Tracking — 2019
On July 29, 2019, members of the public alerted emergency responders about the stranding of
Bill
On March 1, 2016, we received a report of a dolphin that was entangled in a crab trap line
Lizzie
One of our Sarasota residents, Lizzie, had an eventful 2013. She was given a temporary satellite-linked tag during our
Ginger
In December 2008, Ginger, a recently independent juvenile female dolphin, stranded on Siesta Key Beach. SDRP staff was among
Nellie
In February 2010, SDRP staff members spotted a young dolphin “wearing” plastic. We hoped that she would shed the
Scrappy
Scrappy, born in 1998, is the calf of Scooby-Doo (who was given her nickname before we knew she was
Using X-Rays to Estimate Dolphin Age
X-ray images (radiographs) of human hands have been used for decades as a method of confirming age by examining the predictable
The Bottlenose Epigenetic Aging Tool (BEAT)
We're working to create a Bottlenose Epigenetic Aging Tool (BEAT) that will allow us to use small skin samples to
Measuring Dolphin Hearing
Researchers test dolphins' hearing using using auditory evoked potentials, or AEPs. During testing, sensors are placed on an animal’s
Dolphins Have Names
Did you know that bottlenose dolphins develop individually distinctive signature whistles that they use to maintain group cohesion? Unlike
Listening to Sarasota Bay Dolphins
Dolphin F197 with her fourth calf, 1974. Several members of F197's family like to swim near the Cortez PAL
Be Dolphin Safe
You can prevent injuries to dolphins and other sea life simply by following these best practices: Don’t feed wild
Human Activities Claim Three Sarasota Dolphin Lives
Over just 2 weeks in August, we lost three Sarasota Bay resident dolphins. Our Director, Dr. Randy Wells penned
Join Our Marine Debris Team
One of the simplest ways to help wild dolphins — and all other marine life — is to make
Notes from the Field
Work in the field and lab has continued for us this summer, albeit in a socially distant fashion as
