Completed Projects
- Assessment of fetal development and later term gestational calf viability
- Bermuda Dolphin Tracking Project
- Changes in Body Mass and Total Body Water in Three Species of Odonocetes
- Characterization of Non-ciguatera Marine Toxins in Algae and Fishes in Hawaii
- Ciguatera Toxins Project
- Clinical Determination of Immune System Function in Dolphins
- Does Free-riding Behavior Enhance Swimming Efficiency and Reduce Locomotor Costs of Dolphin Calves?
- Dolphin Milk to Study Reproduction
- Dolphin Echocardiography Project
- Field Survey of Toxin Producing Algae
- Health Assessment of Indigenous Tursiops truncatus within the bay systems around Beaufort, NC
- Investigation of contaminant concentration in dolphin milk
- Investigations into the Deformities and Declines in Bermuda's Giant Toad
- Keeping the Fetus Cool: Reproductive Thermoregulation during pregnancy in bottlenose dolphins
- Kula Nai’a Project
- Maternal Investment Strategies in Wild Bottlenose Dolphins
- Monk Seal Prey and Nutrition Study
- Pilot Study of Vocalizations and Behaviors of Several Cetacean Species off Kona, Hawaii
- Social Functions of Signature Whistles and Whistle Imitation in Bottlenose Dolphins
- The Ecology and Biology of Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanensis) off Moorea, French Polynesia
- The Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin: Effects of Human Activities
- Thermal Status of Tursiops truncates
- Upper Gulf of California/Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve
- Vocal Communication in Humpback Whales
Assessment of fetal development and later term gestational calf viability
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: L.Rae Stone, D.V.M.
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest
Project Conducted: 1993
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1993
Project Description:
- Monthly diagnostic ultrasound examinations were performed through five pregnancies at the Dolphin Quest facility on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- Dolphins were trained for voluntary positioning for the procedures.
- Fetal growth was charted for both skull and thorax diameter. Cardiac development and function were recorded and fetal viability indices were defined and assessed.
- The information developed in this study makes possible a simple means of determining the gestational age of a Tursiops fetus, with application to population assessment studies in the field. It also provides a means of determining fetal viability in the critical third trimester of development.
Bermuda Dolphin Tracking Project
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: Leigh J. Klatsky, M.S., Jay C. Sweeney, V.M.D., and Randall S. Wells, Ph.D.
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest / Quest Global Management, Chicago Zoological Society
Project Conducted: 2003-2005
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2003-2007
Project Description:
- This project investigated the behavior and habitat use of offshore bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) found over the deep waters around the Bermuda Pedestal.
- Project used satellite-linked time-depth recorders to exam the dolphin movements and dive behaviors of Tursiops truncatus to obtain a greater understanding of the species diving capabilities and adaptations.
Changes in Body Mass and Total Body Water in Three Species of Odonocetes
Species: Tursiops truncatus, Delphinapterus leucas, and Lagenorhynchus obliquiden
Project Investigators: Shannon Atkinson, Ph.D. and Molly Lucas
Affiliate Organizations: University of Hawaii at Honolulu and Dolphin Quest
Project Conducted: 1994
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1994
Project Description:
- The goal is that one day this comparable model will be able to be used as an assessment tool to determine the metabolic changes in dolphins during pregnancy and learn more about the energetic reproductive strategies of bottlenose dolphins.
- A better understanding of the pattern of energy partitioning will aid in the management of pregnant animals in controlled settings and will aid in the management of conservation of wild population.
Characterization of Non-ciguatera Marine Toxins in Algae and Fishes in Hawaii
Project Investigators: Dr. Wayne Iwaoka, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Affiliate Organizations: University of Hawaii at Honolulu, Dolphin Quest, and Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1989
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1989
Project Description:
- An unidentified toxin, similar to Ciguatera but much more potent (findings suggest that the toxin may be similar to saxitoxin, also called paralytic shellfish poisoning), was seen in Hawaii for the first time in the spring of 1989.
- This project worked on identifying the specific type and distribution of this lethal toxin.
Ciguatera Toxins Project
Project Investigators: Y. Hokama, M.D., PH.D., John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Pathology
Affiliate Organizations: University of Hawaii at Honolulu, Dolphin Quest and Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1989
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1989
Project Description:
- The focus of this project was the development of a diagnostic procedure for identifying Ciguatera toxins in the living patient. This procedure determines the presence of Ciguatera toxins in an ailing patient who may have ingested tainted fish.
- This procedure aids both human and marine mammal health and safety in all tropical waters.
Clinical Determination of Immune System Function in Dolphins
Project Investigators: Neylan Vedros, Ph.D.
Affiliate Organizations: University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health, Dolphin Quest and Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1990
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1990
Project Description:
- A Radial Immuno-Diffusion (RID) Agar Plate procedure for quantitative determination of immune system health of bottlenose dolphins was developed.
- This clinical procedure greatly assists veterinarians working to save stranded or beached dolphins throughout the world.
Does Free-riding Behavior Enhance Swimming Efficiency and Reduce Locomotor Costs of Dolphin Calves?
Species: Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Project Investigators: Dr. Shawn R. Noren
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest Hawaii and Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA
Project Conducted: 2003 - 2005
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2003 – 2007
Project Description:
- This study examines the influence of swim speed on mom-calf swimming kinematics.
- Death of calves during tuna purse-seine fishery chases may explain why depleted dolphin populations in the Eastern tropical Pacific are not recovering.
- The results of this study add to the current base of scientific knowledge and are important for decisions regarding the policies for the dolphin chases associated with the activities of the tuna purse-seine fishery in the ETP.
Dolphin Milk to Study Reproduction
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: Kristi West, Ph.D. and Shannon Atkinson, Ph.D.
Affiliate Organizations: University of Hawaii at Manoa and Dolphin Quest
Project Conducted: 1997- 2002
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1997-2002
Project Description:
- This project determined that a correlation exists between milk and blood plasma when measuring progesterone, a reproductive hormone, in bottlenose dolphins.
- This research provides validation of a non-invasive, alternative method to blood collection for measurement of hormone levels in bottlenose dolphins.
- Potential applications of milk analysis include diagnosing pregnancy and predicting the time of ovulation useful in breeding management. This method may contribute to increased understanding of dolphin reproduction by providing a means to ascertain the reproductive status of dolphins.
- This information may lead to greater reproductive success and a higher level of animal care for dolphins.
Dolphin Echocardiography Project
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: Mark Sklansky, M.D. and Dielle Havlis
Affiliate Organizations: Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Dolphin Quest Oahu
Project Conducted: 2004 - 2005
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2004 – 2005
Project Description:
- Echocardiography, or cardiac ultrasound, has become the single most important tool for the study of human cardiac anatomy and function. Evaluation of the dolphin heart, both for routine surveillance and in cases of suspected heart disease, has been limited by challenging behavioral logistics, risks of sedation, and poor sonographic windows.
- This project aims at using transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiographic imaging to obtain high quality images of all four heart chambers of the dolphin heart without the use of sedation.
- Results from this study will help advance dolphin veterinary medicine by providing normal data and images of dolphin hearts for comparison to cases of suspected heart disease.
Field Survey of Toxin Producing Algae
Project Investigators: Dr. Isabella Abbott
Affiliate Organizations: University of Hawaii at Honolulu, Dolphin Quest, and Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1989
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1989
Project Description:
- This project examined potential biological toxin production in algae of the Kohala coastal environment and studied the changes in toxin production over time.
Health Assessment of Indigenous Tursiops truncatus within the bay systems around Beaufort, NC
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: Larry Hansen, Randall Wells, Ph. D., Dr. Jay Sweeney, V.M.D., and L. Rae Stone, D.V.M.
Affiliate Organizations: National Marine Fisheries Service, Chicago Zoological Society, and Dolphin Quest
Project Conducted: 1995
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1995
Project Description:
- This multi-disciplinary team captured, examined, collected medical specimens and released bottlenose dolphins from around the Beaufort, N.C. area, for the purpose of conducting a health assessment of this population.
- Thirty-one animals were made available for extensive medical examinations, making possible a determinative assessment of this population as of July 1995.
- It also afforded a comprehensive evaluation of this population to similarly assessed populations in Sarasota, FL and Matagorda Bay, TX.
Investigation of contaminant concentration in dolphin milk
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: John Kucklick, Ph.D., Rebecca Pugh; Teri Rowles, D.V.M./Ph.D.
Affiliate Organizations: NIST Hollings Marine Laboratory; NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Project Conducted: 2004 - 2005
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2004 - 2005
Project Description:
- This project aims at investigating contaminant concentrations in dolphin milk over time and a possible relationship with blood values.
- Milk and blood samples from mother and calf pairs at Dolphin Quest Bermuda will be examined in conjunction with field data from the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program to help build a risk assessment model for the exposure of first born dolphins to organic pollutants.
- This project aims at providing crucial information to better understand the effects of contaminants on nursing dolphins.
Investigations into the Deformities and Declines in Bermuda's Giant Toad
Species: Giant Toad (Bufo marinus)
Project Investigators: Jamie Bacon, Ph.D., Bermuda Zoological Society, Donald Linzey, Ph.D., Wytheville Community College, and Douglas Fort, Ph.D., Fort Environmental Laboratories
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest Bermuda, Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, Bermuda Audubon Society and the Bermuda National Trust
Project Conducted: 2002
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2002
Project Description:
- The purpose of this project was to confirm the linkages between environmental contaminants and amphibian deformities in Bermuda and to investigate any implications to human health and biodiversity conservation.
- The goals of this study were to determine if Bermuda’s marine toad (Bufo marinus) populations are being exposed to particular teratogenic chemicals and if these chemicals, under laboratory conditions, can cause the same type of deformities that have been observed in the natural populations.
Keeping the Fetus Cool: Reproductive Thermoregulation during pregnancy in bottlenose dolphins
Species: Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Project Investigators: D. Ann Pabst, William A. McLellan, Erin Meagher, and Sentiel Rommel
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest and University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Project Conducted: 2002 – 2003
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2003
Project Description:
- Bottlenose dolphins possess a specialized vascular structure called a counter-current heat exchanger (CCHE), that functions to cool their reproductive tissues. Heat is transferred from the warm arterial blood to the relatively cool venous blood at a reproductive CCHE site in the reproductive tissue. This allows cooled arterial blood to supply the intra-abdominal testes and the pregnant uterus.
- Projecct will test whether CCHE functions also deliver relatively cooled blood to the fetus, the following methods will be employed: 1) determine the position of the CCHE, 2) take body temperature at two positions (one at the CCHE and the other at an area unaffected by the CCHE), 3) maintain a log of deep body temperature over time, and 4) collect other husbandry and health data.
- This project will directly test the hypothesis that female dolphins use the reproductive CCHE to cool the developing fetus. This study may also provide important insights into the thermal needs of pregnant dolphins.
Kula Nai’a Project
Project Investigators: Jan Ostman, Ania Driscoll, & Ken Norris, Ph. D.
Affiliate Organizations: University of California at Santa Cruz, Dolphin Quest, and Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1991
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1991
Project Description:
- This long-term project examined behavior, identification, and communication of the Hawaiian spinner dolphin through the use of a research boat with a revolutionary underwater viewing chamber.
- For the first time, it was possible to recognize individuals, determine gender and relative age, as well as to document behavior.
- Although the spinner and spotted dolphin species are protected in Hawaiian waters, they are heavily affected by drift net and purse seine tuna fisheries operations throughout the rest of the Pacific. This project began to provide baseline information about the Hawaiian spinner dolphin that will enable more effective protective measures for dolphins worldwide.
Maternal Investment Strategies in Wild Bottlenose Dolphins
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: Caryn Weiss Owen, M.S. and Randall Wells, Ph.D.
Affiliate Organizations: University of California, Santa Cruz, Conservation Biology Department of the Chicago Zoological Society, Illinois, and Dolphin Quest
Project Conducted: 2000 - 2002
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2000 - 2002
Project Description:
- This research examined the potential differences in parental investment strategies among different age classes of females to determine if varying behavioral patterns contribute to differential calf survivorship.
- Knowledge of maternal behavioral factors affecting calf survival is of importance to management of both wild and captive populations of bottlenose dolphins and may contribute to the understanding of successful community recruitment, which is the basis for many ecological management plans.
Monk Seal Prey and Nutrition Study
Project Investigators: Shannon Atkinson, Ph. D., and Gwen Lowe
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest and University of Hawaii at Honolulu
Project Conducted: 1996
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1996
Project Description:
- This project studied the Hawaiian monk seals at the five main breeding islands to see if they were feeding on different prey and if there was a difference in diet among adult male, adult female and juvenile seals. Once the prey were identified, the next focus was to understand how well the seals digest them and how many calories, proteins, etc. they provided. This project was conducted to attempt to explain the selective starvation seen in the North West HI.
Pilot Study of Vocalizations and Behaviors of Several Cetacean Species off Kona, Hawaii
Project Investigators: Laela Sayigh Ph.D. and Peter Tyack, Ph.D.
Affiliate Organizations: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Boston, MA and Dolphin Quest
Project Conducted: 1996
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1996
Project Description:
- Little is known of spinner, spotted, and bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales, false killer whales, and melon-headed whales. This study utilized towed video and audio instruments to gather behavior and vocalization data for baseline information on these and other near-shore Hawaiian species.
Social Functions of Signature Whistles and Whistle Imitation in Bottlenose Dolphins
Species: Tursiops truncatus
Project Investigators: Peter Tyack, Ph.D. and Amy Samuels, Ph.D
Affiliate Organizations: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Boston, MA and Dolphin Quest
Project Conducted: 1996
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1996
Project Description:
- Project evaluated vocalizations within the context of immediate behavioral interactions and long-term social relationships to determine the functions of signature and imitated whistles. This study is one of the most detailed assessments of social communication in a cetacean species.
The Ecology and Biology of Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanensis) off Moorea, French Polynesia
Species: Steno bredanensis
Project Investigators: Kristi West, Ph.D., Claude Payri, Ph.D., Cecile Gaspar, DVM
Affiliate Organizations: University of Hawaii at Manoa, L’Universite de la Polynesie Francaise, and Dolphin Quest French Polynesia
Project Conducted: 1998 - 2002
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1998 - 2002
Project Description:
- This was the first comprehensive report on the ecology and biology of the rough-toothed dolphin.
- Study included systematic vessel surveys in French Polynesia to describe distribution and habitat preference of this species around an oceanic island chain.
- Captive rough-toothed dolphins were blood sampled regularly to describe baseline hormone values in this species of dolphin.
- Information accumulated on this relatively unknown species will contribute to conservation management of the rough-toothed dolphin in French Polynesia and other regions of the world.
The Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin: Effects of Human Activities
Species: Stenella longirostris
Project Investigators: Anna Forest and Bernard Wursig, D.V.M.
Affiliate Organizations: Texas A&M University at Galveston, Dolphin Quest, and Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1996
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1996
Project Description:
- Study assessed the impact of human activity on spinner dolphins frequenting Kealakekua Bay on the Island of Hawaii.
- This study worked on determining if recent purposeful human interaction with wild spinner dolphins has any short-term or long-term effects, such as disruption of “critical natural behaviors”: resting rhythms, reproduction, and feeding.
Thermal Status of Tursiops truncatus
Species: Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Project Investigators: Terrie Williams, Ph. D., University of California, Santa Cruz, CA
Anne Pabst, Ph. D., University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest Oahu, University of California at Santa Cruz, and University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Project Conducted: 2001 - 2002
Dolphin Quest Supported: 2001- 2002
Project Description:
- Examined the thermoregulatory responses of small cetaceans residing in tropical regions
- Developed non-invasive methods for assessing thermal profiles in dolphins
- Compared the thermoregulatory responses of resting, swimming and diving cetaceans, and compared the thermal profiles of several species of small cetaceans including bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and rough toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis)
- Research is aimed at understanding whether hyperthermia (excess heat) is a potential stressor experienced by dolphins that are chased and captured in the EPT tuna purse-seine fishery.
Upper Gulf of California/Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve
Species: Vaquita
Affiliate Organizations: Dolphin Quest and the Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1992
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1992
Project Description:
- To establish a plan for management of the upper Sea of Cortez, to address the protection of the endangered Vaquita while providing indigenous local people with assistance in fishing methods, equipment and enforcement capabilities towards assuring continued productivity of the area
- The significance of this project, aside from the intent to provide assistance to this particular animal species as well as to create an overall management plan for the area, was the cooperative nature of the effort. This was a multi-disciplinary cooperative effort between Mexican scientists, U.S. public-display institutions and conservation organizations.
Vocal Communication in Humpback Whales
Species: Megaptera novaeangliae
Project Investigators: Louis M. Herman, Ph.D.
Affiliate Organizations: University of Hawaii at Honolulu, Dolphin Quest and Waikoloa Marine Life Fund
Project Conducted: 1992
Dolphin Quest Supported: 1992
Project Description:
- This project investigated communication, behavior and distribution of the endangered humpback whale using acoustic localization techniques.
- A series of sonobuoys anchored off the Big Island enabled researchers to locate, identify and study singing Humpback whales, which may be out of visual range. This innovative research aids in understanding context and functions of humpback songs and social interactions, habitat management, and marine environmental conservation projects.
