Nicks 'n' Notches Online
A monthly enewsletter from the
Sarasota Dolphin Research Program
August 2021
|
|
We’re happy to report that we’ve documented three additional births this summer, bringing the 2021 total to 18 calves! That’s just shy of the record number of 21 births we recorded in 2017 — which was the most we had ever documented in the history of the program. Summer’s not quite over yet, so we may see a few more babies yet!
In addition to documenting these new babies, we also sighted all of the previous newborns from this year’s YOY (young-of-the-year) class — a great sign indicating that they’re all doing well so far, in spite of the red tide.
As a bonus, we also observed nine of the calves born in 2020 and six of our oldest dolphins — each more than 40 years old.
-
You can learn more about the life histories of some of these older dolphins — FB25, FB54 and FB79 — in the “Meet the Dolphins” section of our website.
|
|
Notes from the Field and Lab |
|
Summer is always extremely busy here at the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program.
- We’ve been conducting our regular population monitoring surveys — and expanded them north to cover the area around the huge wastewater spill at Piney Point.
- We’ve been conducting remote biopsy sampling in lieu of our more typical health assessments (which had to be put on hold due to Covid-19). Each tiny biopsy sample — about the size of a pencil eraser — is sub-sectioned, contributing to as many as eight projects and providing at least some of the samples we would have hoped to obtain during our canceled health assessments.
- We’re working with the National Marine Fisheries Service, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and the National Marine Mammal Foundation to assess the dolphin population in Perdido Bay, on the border of Florida and Alabama.
- We’re also planning for dolphin health assessments and tagging with satellite-linked transmitters off the West Florida Shelf as part of our Florida RESTORE Act Center of Excellence Program grant.
|
|
In August, we also continued our purse-seine catch-and-release fish surveys in Sarasota Bay.
These surveys, conducted seasonally since 2004, allow us to gain an indication of the relative abundance of fish in Sarasota Bay — important information for understanding one of dolphins’ main ecological drivers: their prey.
|
|
|
Our preliminary findings indicate that overall fish catches in Sarasota Bay’s seagrass meadows were below average in August, though catches varied greatly depending on location.
Given the summer’s red tide, it’s not surprising that fish numbers have been reduced. But we were also alarmed by a recent report from the Southwest Florida Water Management District about seagrass abundance in Sarasota Bay.
According to the report, Sarasota Bay lost 18 percent of its seagrass coverage between 2018 and 2020 — some 2,313 acres. Similar seagrass losses have also been reported to our north in Tampa Bay and to our South in Charlotte Harbor.
|
|
Seagrass is considered a critical habitat by state and federal resource managers. In addition to helping stabilize the seafloor, seagrass meadows provide food, shelter and a nursery for commercial and recreational fish species — including dolphin prey. Without healthy seagrass, we won’t have healthy dolphin communities. Other charismatic species impacted by seagrass losses include sea turtles and manatees, which both feed on these grasses. (In fact, a decline in seagrasses is believed to be contributing to the manatee mortality event currently taking place on Florida’s east coast).
While the reasons for seagrass declines are complex — red tides and other algal blooms, increasing nutrient loads, rainfall patterns, propeller scars, and other factors — we should all be concerned about changes in these critical habitats and do our part to help where we can.
Some things you can do in Florida include reducing or eliminating fertilizer use; making sure your septic tank is operating properly; working with your local, county and state representatives to support measures to build, monitor, and maintain central sewer systems, limit run-off, maintain wetlands, and take other steps that clean up our waterways.
And, if you live in another part of the country, you may still have an impact here, too — that’s because 41 percent of the contiguous United States drains into the Gulf of Mexico, so reducing nutrient pollution in your neck of the woods is a good idea, too.
Until next month, here’s to fair winds, an end to the current red tide, and healthy seagrass!
Randy Wells
|
|
Want to see where a raindrop that falls in your backyard goes? Check out the “River Runner,” a great visualization tool created by Sam Learner.
|
|
Name: F222
Age: 22
Sex: Male
A Dolphin's Life: F222 is the second calf of Claire (also known as F131), the grand-calf of Genie (FB59) and great-grand-calf of Granny (FB19). (This is the maternal lineage that we told you about in last month’s newsletter.) We’ve observed F222 more than 750 times since his birth in 1999.
We wanted to introduce you to him this month as we head into the Labor Day holiday — a popular boating weekend. That’s because in July 2015 — around the time of another popular boating weekend — we observed him with deep slices to his dorsal fin consistent with a boat propeller strike. We’re thankful he survived his injuries and he remains a part of the Sarasota Bay dolphin community.
Please remember: Boat safe — their lives depend on it!
|
|
Follow Us on Social Media |
|
Celebrating More than 50 Years of Research, Conservation and Education
|
|
Support Dolphin Research Today |
|
Each year, it takes approximately $1 million to fund the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. Each grant and each gift helps to ensure that we can continue to learn about and help some of the world’s most fascinating creatures.
You can help ensure the future of this important and unparalleled wild dolphin research by making a gift today.
Gift options
|
|
|
|
Donate to the Dolphin Biology Research Institute. This Sarasota-based nonprofit organization was established in 1982 to provide critical logistical and other operational support to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program.
|
|
For more information on how you can help support wild dolphin research, please contact Cindy Zeigler, CZS Chief Advancement Officer, at cindy.zeigler@czs.org or 708.688.8263.
|
|
Dolphin Biology Research Institute — DBA Sarasota Dolphin Research Program — is dedicated to research and conservation of dolphins and their habitat. Community Foundation of Sarasota County Giving Partner Profile available here.
DBRI IS A 501(C)3 ORGANIZATION — FEDERAL TAX ID #59-2288387. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION (#CH1172) AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE OR AT WWW.FDACS.GOV/CONSUMER-RESOURCES/CHARITIES. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
