Health
The SDRP is unique because the team has been conducting health assessments on wild dolphins since the 1980s.
This provides benchmark data for the protection of dolphins worldwide.
This information is important. We need to better understand how to heal sick or injured wild dolphins, and to interpret health data from other dolphin populations where, for example, oil spills or unusual mortality events have occurred.
The purposes of the Health Assessment program are:
- to mark and collect samples from dolphins who have never been captured before.
- to continue our studies of how environmental contaminants impact dolphin health and reproduction.
- to compile baseline data on what constitutes “normal” health for wild bottlenose dolphins.
During a health assessment, a dolphin is examined by a team of veterinarians and scientists, and then it is released. In 2009, data and samples from dolphin health assessments supported 29 different research projects in the areas of dolphin health, environmental contaminants, bio-toxins, life history, population structure, ecology, hearing, and communication.Data and samples supported 29 different research projects
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