As enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida, funds from the Protect Wild Dolphins Specialty License Plate can be used to:

• collect, analyze, and archive scientific data regarding the wild dolphin population in Florida waters
• provide care and assistance to stranded wild dolphins
• distribute information to the scientific community, federal, state, and local government agencies, educational institutions, and the public for the purpose of protecting and preserving wild dolphins
• individually identify wild dolphins through a photographic identification program
• advance the research technology associated with tracking and categorizing wild dolphins.

Research expenditures in 2008 ($782,351.15) supported the following projects conducted by the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation (MMRC) program:

Ongoing Projects

Project Title: Bottlenose Dolphin Health and Risk Assessment (HERA) Project

Project Managers: Stephen McCulloch, Program Manager, and Juli Goldstein D.V.M., Assistant Research Professor, Center for Marine Ecosystem Health; Principal Investigator: Dr. Gregory Bossart, D.V.M., Ph.D., Georgia Aquarium

Project Summary: The HERA Project is a comprehensive, integrated, multi-disciplinary research program designed to assess environmental and anthropogenic stressors, as well as the health and long-term viability of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The goals are to develop specific tools and techniques to better identify health threats to dolphins and to identify links to possible environmental stressors. HERA protocols were developed as a standardized means to clinically evaluate the overall health of individual animals, as well as to identify potential health hazards for entire dolphin populations. In the future, such data should be the basis that helps shape new environmental preservation policies that legislatively provide more effective conservation management strategies and enforcement capabilities. In doing so, this research may help ensure that both humans and dolphins enjoy a higher quality of life.

Project Title: The Florida East Coast Dolphin Photo-identification Project

Program Manager: Marilyn Mazzoil, Research Associate, Center for Marine Ecosystem Health

Project Summary: Recent studies have highlighted the significance of long-term monitoring data on dolphin habitat use, environmental characterization, and health. Under a NOAA permit for photo-identification research on dolphins, this long-term project (initiated by MMRC in 1998) measures abundance, distribution, home range, social structure, reproductive success, disease occurrence/ prevalence, mortality, and anthropogenic impacts. The overall goal is to develop an understanding of the ecology and behavior of dolphins along the east coast of Florida. This information provides the basis for conservation and management of this sentinel species. Knowledge of the ecology and behavior of dolphins from PIP, in conjunction with ongoing investigations of stock discrimination, environmental pollution, and health issues serve to refine management strategies on both broad and fine geographic scales.

Project Title: Marine Mammal Stranding Response

Project Manager: Stephen McCulloch, Program Manager, Center for Marine Ecosystem Health; Principal Investigator: Juli Goldstein, D.V.M., Assistant Research Professor, Center for Marine Ecosystem Health

Project Summary: MMRC is authorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service to act as a “first responder” to a variety of marine mammal emergencies and is often designated to take the lead on managing other members of the Southeast U.S. Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Network. These emergency requests include single animal strandings, mother/calf pair strandings, mass strandings, and special requests to rescue and treat dolphins or whales that have become entangled or displaced from their natural habitats. In 2008, MMRC responded to 13 strandings of marine mammals, which included 3 interventions involving entangled or out of habitat dolphins that required emergency aid. Note: This project is also supported by funds from the Protect Florida Whale Specialty License Plate.

Project Title: Marine Mammal Pathobiology and Necropsy Laboratory

Principal Investigator: Juli Goldstein, D.V.M., Assistant Research Professor, Center for Marine Ecosystem Health

Project Summary: The objective of this project is to investigate the cause of death in all marine mammals that are presented to or are recovered from stranding events. The MMRC staff collects viable tissue and organ samples for analysis and archival reference. All necropsy investigations are documented on video, which is used as scientific footage and for teaching purposes. In 2008, 6 necropsies were performed in this laboratory. Note: This project is also supported by funds from the Protect Florida Whale Specialty License Plate.

Project Title: Dissemination of Information for the Purpose of Protecting and Preserving Wild Dolphins

Project Manager: Stephen McCulloch, Program Manager, Center for Marine Ecosystem Health

Project Summary: This project disseminates data and provides educational content to address the conservation of dolphins that utilize Florida’s coastal habitats. This mandate is accomplished by presenting and publishing on findings of the Protect Wild Dolphins program. Products include lectures and outreach efforts to the general public, which include the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals, health and risk assessments, and population studies. This information is also distributed by means of websites, publications, brochures, and film media.

External Grants to Other Institutions (Funds Dispersed in 2008)

In addition to Specialty License Plate research supported at HBOI/FAU, grants were also made to other organizations:

Grant Title: “Don’t Feed Wild Dolphins” Television Commercial (Public Service Announcement)

Grant Amount: Total Award - $100,000; Funds Dispersed in 2008 - $45,500.00

Grant Summary: Feeding wild dolphin in Florida is a serious people management issue. In an effort to reduce this activity, a Public Service Announcement (PSA) was developed and distributed to educate the public that feeding dolphins in natural environments is harmful to these marine mammals, dangerous to people, and illegal under federal law. The PSA supports longstanding efforts by the federal government, concerned scientists, public display communities, and wildlife conservation groups to promote the “Protect Dolphin Campaign.” A website was created to help the public learn more about the perils of feeding and harassing wild dolphins (see: (www.DontFeedWildDolphins.org)

Contact Information/Organization: Dr. Randall Wells, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, E-mail: rwells@mote.org

Grant Title: Monitoring the Indian River Lagoon Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Populations Using an Aerial Survey: A Critical Tool for Understanding Population Health and Risk Assessment

Grant Amount: Total Award - $44,375;Funds Dispersed in 2008 - $24,890.50

Grant Summary: An understanding of the abundance, distribution and movements of bottlenose dolphin in the Indian River lagoon is essential for assessing their overall health, evaluating anthropogenic effects, and estimating recruitment rates. This project continued a program of monitoring population structure and habitat use throughout the year.

Contact Information/Organization: Wendy Noke, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute, 6295 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32821, E-mail: wnoke@hswri.org

Grant Title: ‘Pod-Track’ – A Long Range Passive Acoustic Detection, Localization and

Tracking System for Wild Dolphins

Grant Amount: Total Award - $70,541; Funds Dispersed in 2008 - $9,411.72

Grant Summary: This project tested a prototype, passive acoustic device designed for long-range tracking of wild dolphins. A proof-of-concept field trial used a vertical line array of hydrophones to record communication whistles of dolphin. Statistical analyses of these bio-acoustic data have the potential to examine the locations, movement patterns, and feeding activities of individual dolphin, as well as to determine how anthroprogenic noise may alter their behaviors.

Contact Information/Organization: Douglas Nowacek,Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, 117 North Woodward Avenue, PO Box 3064320, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4320, E-mail: nowacek@ocean.fsu.edu

Grant Title: Dolphin SMART: Dolphin Tour Operator Education and Recognition Program in the Florida Keys

Grant Amount: Total Award - $72,410; Funds Dispersed in 2008 - $9,051.25

Grant Summary: The objective of the Dolphin SMART program is to implement a voluntary code of conduct that will promote responsible wild dolphin viewing practices and dolphin conservation and stewardship in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS). Education and training components of this program are organized to minimize wild dolphin harassment due to commercial viewing activities, eliminate advertising that encourages illegal activities that constitute harassment, and reduce harassment to a resident group of wild dolphins in the FKNMS. Field research in the FKNMS was designed to identify dolphin population structure, the magnitude of anthropogenic threats, and overall program success in mitigating human disturbance of dolphin.

Contact Information/Organization: Courtney Vail, U.S. Policy Officer, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, 7 Nelson Street, Plymouth, MA 02360, E-mail: courtney@wdcs.org

2007 Dolphin Stranding Reimbursements

Reimbursements were provided in 2008 to members of the Southeast U.S. Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Network (authorized by the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service) for expenses incurred in the care, treatment, rescue, and/or response for sick or injured marine mammals stranded along Florida’s coastlines.

Funds disbursed in (2008) - $25,325.73, with disbursements to the following organizations:

• $9,998.15 to Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236
• $9,012.96 to Gulf World Marine Park, 15412 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach, FL 32413
• $4,915.59 to Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute, 6295 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32821
• $1,399.03 to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767