2003 NC Student Grants
Oct 21, 2003

Congratulations to the 2003 “Protect Wild Dolphins” grant recipients and thank you for your good work.

Recipients are all NC graduate students doing research on bottlenose dolphins. The grants are to help them defray the cost of presenting their work at the Society for Marine Mammalogy XV Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals Dec. 14 through the 19^th. in Greensboro, NC. Below is a list of the recipients with a short paragraph on how their research will help us protect and learn more about bottlenose dolphins. These grants are funded by the sale of the NC Maritime Museum’s “Protect Wild Dolphins” license plates.

Michelle Barbieri – UNCW

An assessment of seasonal changes in the dorsal fin surface temperatures of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, FL, USA

The observed changes in dorsal fin surface temperatures, which reflect delivery of body heat to the periphery via blood flow, may influence the ability of an individual to dissipate excess body heat. A better understanding of the adaptive physiological mechanisms used by bottlenose dolphins, specifically the role of the dorsal fin in thermoregulation across a broad range of water temperatures, will provide the knowledge necessary to guide decisions regarding the health, in the case of incidental beach strandings, and conservation of wild dolphins. Though the particular project I am presenting focuses on dolphins in Sarasota Bay, I am collecting data for similar research in the Wilmington, NC area in hopes that this may help us understand the physiological adaptations of our local dolphins to environmental temperature as well.

Kim Fleming – UNCW

Social structure and behavior of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in relation to shrimp trawlers in Southport, NC

Most studies of dolphin-fishery interactions focus on negative aspects such as competition and entanglement. My research takes a novel approach by looking at potential impacts of fishery interactions on dolphin behavior and social structure. Using photo-identification, I am evaluating whether dolphins that interact with shrimp-trawlers in Southport, NC differ from those that do not with respect to their activity and association patterns.

Leigh G. Torres – Duke

Bottlenose dolphins as an indicator species of ecosystem restoration in Florida Bay

Habitat quality is an important factor in the management of wild dolphin populations. This work links various measurements of habitat quality to the distribution ecology and habitat use of bottlenose dolphins throughout Florida Bay.

Erin Meagher – UNCW

Seasonal differences in heat flux across multiple body surfaces in wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The work I will be presenting describes how wild bottlenose dolphins are able to regulate their body temperature across a range of ambient temperatures. These data will hopefully provide baseline information that will be useful for monitoring populations of dolphins as global warming changes their coastal ecosystem.

Robin Dunkin – UNCW

Blubber’s contribution to buoyancy throughout ontogeny in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

My work is going to help us understand the impact of changes in a dolphins blubber mass on functions such as buoyancy and thermoregulation. Additionally, it promotes the protection of wild dolphins by furthering our understanding of their basic physiology. This kind of information is a necessity for understanding energetic demands, potential natural and anthropogenic stresses, and a number of other parameters that influence the survivorship of wild dolphin populations.

Carter Morrissette – UNCW

Quantifying stereotypy of bottlenose dolphin signature whistles

My research focuses on quantifying features of bottlenose dolphin signature whistles, such as duration, frequency content, and inter-loop intervals. This work will provide insights as to what constitutes a single whistle, an issue that is currently quite controversial. This information could prove useful in situations where remote acoustic monitoring could be used to assess the number of dolphins in a particular area. Such a technique could be a valuable supplement to photo-identification for purposes of stock assessment and/or management.

After talking with the local stranding coordinator, Gretchen Lovewell, it was decided to seek the advice of a veterinarian with the NCSU veterinarian school, Dr. Craig Harms. As luck would have it the Dr. Harms had kayaked to the Cape earlier that morning to climb the lighthouse and just happened to check his messages. We were all surprised to see him come kayaking up.

As Dr. Harms examined the dolphin we saw that a shark had bitten it and that it was listing to one side. It was a big dolphin and highly unlikely to have been bitten by a shark unless it was already weak. Dr. Harms thought this could be good candidate for rehabilitation so the decision was made to transport the dolphin to the NOAA Lab on Pivers Island.

We loaded the dolphin on to Haywood Holderness’s boat and transported the dolphin to Harkers Island where NOAA personnel Aleta Hohn , Annie Gorgone, Gretchen Lovewell, and Ari Friedlander from Duke met us. We loaded the dolphin into the back of a pickup truck, covered him with wet towels and transported him to the NOAA lab. Four of us rode in the back spraying him with water. At the NOAA Lab we unloaded the dolphin into a temporary pool. Dr. Harms took blood samples for analysis and tube fed him some liquids.

It was necessary for someone to be in the pool with him at all times to help him keep his head above water to breath and to keep him from listing to one side. Tabbie started contacting possible volunteers and making an around the clock schedule. We had volunteers from the local community, NOAA, Duke Marine Lab, NC Maritime Museum, and NCSU School of Veterinarian Medicine.

It was also necessary for us to provide some fish for him to eat. Hugh provided some frozen spots from his freezer. Leslie from William Smith Seafood in Beaufort kindly offered to help provide fish for food. Keith also provided some food, trashing his best cast net in the process. The dolphin would not eat so Dr. Harms made a fish slurry and tube fed him.

When the blood samples came back it was obvious that we had a very sick dolphin on our hands, but nobody gave up. Dr. Harms contacted the NCSU Veterinarian School and 2 veterinarian students came down from Raleigh to assist. Dr. Harms did everything possible to help the dolphin and spent countless hours with him, but he was an old sick dolphin and it was his time. When he died 3 days later, on June 17th, it was a sad time for all the people that had worked so hard to try and save him. The necropsy confirmed that he was a very sick dolphin.

Thanks to all the people that helped.