Dolphin Research Program

September 14th, 2005 seemed like any other day.

Researchers from the Chicago Zoological Society Dolphin Conservation Program performed their survey of Sarasota Bay to observe resident dolphins, as they have regularly for more than thirty-five years. So what was different this time?

After encountering Little Orphan’s Annie, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin well-known to researchers for her distinctively-shaped dorsal fin and tendency to swim near their Mote Marine Lab offices, they also came upon her new companion. CZS Field Coordinator Jason Allen was the first to spot the calf, who was Little Orphan’s Annie’s first offspring. Within days, the calf could no longer be seen and researchers assumed that like most first calves in the wild, this one had died. That ending, though sad, was yet another benchmark for Brookfield Zoo researcher Dr. Randy Wells’ project---it signaled the first documentation of a fifth generation of dolphins to be studied in Sarasota Bay.

Dr. Wells’ program is undisputedly the longest running dolphin research program in the world---long enough that he has observed five generations within the amazing cetacean community that resides in Florida’s Sarasota Bay. Dolphin societies vary greatly around the world, but the dolphins Dr. Wells’ program observes have given support to the idea that some groups choose to take up long-term, multigenerational residency in specific places. This is the 36th year of the project and Wells’ team continues to see many of the same animals that they observed when the project began in 1970.

Meet the Neighbors
Why would dolphins choose to stay in the same spot for so long? Dr. Wells thinks they stay in the same area of Sarasota Bay because they can easily hunt for food in the shallow sea grass meadows that lie only about 1-6 feet below the surface. The sheltered waters have offered this dolphin community a comfortable and safe space---so why move on? This reliance on specific areas of real estate makes it easier for Wells to work for their protection and management. But things have gotten much harder for the dolphins in recent years. The human population in the region has more than doubled since Wells began his research in 1970, and now people are a much more significant presence in the waters with over 40,000 boats in the bay. And while only four or five of the 150 animals in the area show marks from collisions with boats, Dr. Wells is very concerned about the cumulative effect of noise and pollution on the dolphins who come into contact with a boat every six minutes.

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