Scientific Studies

Sandys, Bermuda – (June 17, 2019) – Dr. Jason Bruck, a dolphin researcher from Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) Department of Integrative Biology began a groundbreaking new study last month at Dolphin Quest Bermuda with his team of scientists to measure the bottlenose dolphin’s field of vision. The results from this study serve two important initial…

The United Nations report on biodiversity published this week reveals the alarming fact that extinction is now looming over one million species of plants and animals, including 1/3 of all marine mammal, shark and fish species. (https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment) This staggering number is the highest in human history. While dolphins and whales in modern zoos and aquariums…

Earlier this month, Dolphin Quest Bermuda and the Bermuda Aquarium hosted a team of wildlife biologists, cetologists and veterinarians to learn more about the health, behavior and diving physiology of Bermuda’s deep diving dolphins. Past results from this ongoing study included the deepest recorded dive for a bottlenose dolphin, with a depth over 900 meters!…

Results Published in The Journal of Experimental Biology On July 8, 2015, the prestigious Journal of Experimental Biology published a first of its kind study providing new insights into how bottlenose dolphins breathe and handle dive related respiratory challenges. This study, which would have been extremely challenging to conduct in the wild, was hosted by…

Dolphin Quest Oahu (DQO) was recognized this September with the prestigious Research Advancements Award at the 2014 International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA) annual conference. Results from the study were also published in The Journal of Experimental Biology. During the IMATA conference, DQO Manager of Marine Animals, Julie Rocho-Levine, and Andreas Fahlman, a researcher with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, shared the advancements made possible when renowned researchers collaborate with expert animal behaviorists within the marine mammal community. Fahlman, along with researchers from the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute partnered with DQO to develop non-invasive methods for estimating wild marine mammals’ metabolic rate and lung mechanics under normal and stressed conditions. The data collected from DQO’s animals provided insights into how marine mammals manage oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen in various scenarios including when the animals are wearing electronic data logging tags….

by Cameron Dabney Dolphin Quest Hawaii’s Regional Education Supervisor Cameron Dabney joined the Cascadia Research Collective team in the field this past July on an incredible marine mammal study off the Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. This is a first-hand account of her experience. I arrive at the harbor early, ecstatic about my day ahead. The air and water are still and the reflections of the boats glisten as the morning light peaks over the mountains. The smell of fish and gasoline waft in the distance. Mesmerized by the calmness of the early harbor morning, I sit on the dock acknowledging that one of my lifetime dreams is about to come true: I am about to go out and do marine mammal surveys with Robin Baird, world-renowned marine mammal biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective. When Robin and his…

Dolphin Quest’s expert animal behaviorists do an amazing job training our dolphins, but do you wonder if fish can be trained? At Dolphin Quest Hawaii, we are working on some amazing fish training in our new tide pool habitat. Right now, we have a gorgeous porcupine puffer fish, a very hungry snapper, a couple of lined butterfly fish, and some very cool goat fish that are all learning new behaviors. Just like the dolphins, training fish starts with trust. Our multispecies trainers work day in and day out to make sure the fish trust them enough to approach them. From there, the relationship allows our trainers to teach the fish to stay in one place, feed from their hands, come when called (“recall”), and so much more! All of this has one common goal: to allow us to better take care…

As part of our commitment to global stewardship, Dolphin Quest is dedicated to conservation and the advancement of marine mammal research. Dolphin Quest Oahu (DQO) is currently participating in a groundbreaking long-term research project studying dolphin lung capacity. The scientific significance of this work is to develop non-invasive methods for estimating wild marine mammals’ metabolic…

Through the years, Dolphin Quest Hawaii has given back to the local and international community in many ways. One of the biggest opportunities to do that comes through research. This year, the local community in Kona, on Hawaii’s Big Island, had a very special visit from a group of killer whales. On the first day,…