BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN HEALTH ASSESSMENTS IN SARASOTA BAY, FLORIDA

With only a few exceptions since 1997, Dolphin Quest has been the primary organization supporting bottlenose dolphin health assessment operations in Sarasota Bay, Florida, building on the pioneering catch-and-release life history and health research initiated in 1984 with Jay Sweeney’s help and guidance.

Health assessment operations involving this long-term resident community have contributed to the development and/or testing of many new diagnostic health or field research techniques.

Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, taken under NMFS Scientific Research Permit No. 26622

The relationship with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program has been exceptionally productive, with Dolphin Quest support during this period benefiting the production of hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications and conference and public presentations, and nearly a hundred master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, and establishing the Sarasota Bay dolphin community as a reference population for comparisons by NMFS and others with more at-risk populations elsewhere (e.g., Barataria Bay, LA), facilitating appropriate management actions for dolphin protection and restoration.

In May 2023, we continued this ongoing, long-term project, acknowledging the importance of continuity and consistency for being able to detect health changes and identify trends and ranges of natural variability in the community.