Michael Scott, Ph.D.
Secretary of the Board
The Dolphin Biology Research Institute is a Sarasota-based 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established in 1982 to provide logistical support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with research vessels, towing vehicles, computers, cameras, field equipment, etc.
Michael Scott began his career studying dolphin communication as a graduate student with David and Melba Caldwell in 1972. He then began a decades-long association with Blair Irvine, Randy Wells and the bottlenose dolphins of Sarasota Bay. He went on to study manatees for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, sea turtles for the National Marine Fisheries Service and pelagic dolphins for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). He received his Ph.D. from UCLA for his studies on the ecology of marine aggregations and is currently an Affiliated Professor at the University of San Diego and Secretary and Board Member of the Dolphin Biology Research Institute. His research as a Senior Scientist for the IATTC included mortality reduction of dolphins in tuna purse-seine nets, studies of the movements, diving behaviors and pelagic and herd structure of pelagic dolphins, and why tuna and dolphin associate together.
