BEHAVIORAL AND ACOUSTIC ECOLOGY OF OFFSHORE DOLPHINS

Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, NMFS permit 26622

This project collaborates with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Project to temporarily capture offshore dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico (bottlenose dolphins and spotted dolphins) and instrument them with sound and movement recording DTAGs. These tag deployments will allow us to eavesdrop directly on the biosonar signals that toothed whales use for finding and capturing prey, and to understand the foraging ecology and foraging strategies of these seldomly studied delphinids. Understanding where, when, and how often animals forage is important for understanding how animals use the habitat and ultimately for mitigating conflicts between cetaceans and human activities.