We have been able to continue our year-round monthly monitoring of the Sarasota dolphin community thanks to support from NOAA Fisheries Service. The Sarasota bottlenose dolphin community is the most thoroughly-studied, free-ranging dolphin population in the world. We continue to address increasingly refined questions about the lives of these animals with the benefit of information gained through our intensive year-round studies of their distribution, social, and reproductive patterns.

Figure 1 - Average number of dolphin sightings and total dolphins per day from November 2007 through October 2008.

        Photo-identification surveys were conducted on 110 days from November 2007 through October 2008 with the assistance of dedicated volunteers and undergraduate interns. We had 943 group sightings that totaled 2,848 dolphins (including resighted animals). Monthly values varied (Figure 1), but overall we averaged about 8.6 sightings and 30 dolphins per day. These values have remained fairly consistent over the past several years. We had a high of 17 group sightings on 17 November 2007 and 62 dolphins on 25 August 2008. Our single largest group of Sarasota Bay residents was observed on 17 January 2008 and was comprised of 17 animals including “Pi”, “Noah”, “Pokey”, “Lasagna”, “Boxer” and calf, “Claire” and calf, “Yorick” and others.
       

Table 1 - Births, deaths, and losses (missing animals) to the Sarasota Bay population over the past year. Ten new calves were born and nine well known animals have not been recently sighted.

        We documented the births of ten new calves to long-term resident mothers during the summer of 2008 while monitoring the Sarasota dolphin community. “Low Point”, “FB 127”, and “49C-4” had their second calves while “FB 175” and “Fat Top” had their third and “Saida Beth” had her ninth! Other moms included “Moonfin Look-a-like”, “A-4”, and “Pecan Sandie”. “FB 159” was observed with her first calf, which represents a second five generation lineage resident to Sarasota Bay; unfortunately this first-born calf died in December. Interestingly, this lineage’s matriarch (FB 19) was the first known grandmother and great-grandmother in the population.
        In addition to the loss of FB 159’s calf, we confirmed the loss of one other resident this year. On 17 October 2008, our survey project recovered the body of “Ms. Mayhem”; a 54-year-old female and long-term Sarasota Bay resident. She was last seen nine days prior to recovery when our field team noted that she appeared skinny and had fresh shark bite wounds. Unfortunately, the carcass was badly decomposed and an exact cause of death could not be determined. Since first observed in Palma Sola Bay on 8 May 1976, she had been documented in almost 700 group sightings. We know that she gave birth to at least five calves, one of which is a female (“Pumpkin”) who has produced five grandcalves.
        This year, we have accounted for over 98% of the dolphins who use Sarasota Bay on a regular basis. As of October 2008, the number of dolphins regularly using the waters of Sarasota Bay stands at approximately 160 animals.

The first observation of F175's third calf. From sighting records of F175, we know that it is less than one week old in this picture.

Petey (Ms. Mayhem's son) and Pi (her gradnson) together in December 2008.

The last sighting of 54-yr-old Ms. Mayhem alive. Two shark bites in front of and below her dorsal fin are isible. Her carcass was recovered just nine days later.

Bobbit leaps out of the water during a socializing bout near Cortez Bridge.