Marco Dolphin Study – Year 20 Begins Now

In February 2006, a small but passionate team set on a mission to monitor the local bottlenose dolphin population of Marco Island. No one, organization or individual, had done this before anywhere in Southwest Florida, especially around Marco. 

As with every new venture, the “how to’s” of a project had to be developed, fine-tuned, and redeveloped to capture data about these amazing mammals. Their abundance, feeding habits, travel range, social patterns, genealogy, survival rate, individual identification, overall health, and day-to-day well-being were recorded on every excursion.

Now, as the 10,000 Island Dolphin Research Project, on board the Dolphin Explorer, begins its 20th year of study and surveys, changes in societal activity are becoming more prominent and family trees are branching out. This has been a learning experience that is still in progress.

In year one of this study, it would be impossible to identify any grandmothers in our waters. It was tedious enough to know if a calf next to its mom was a yearling or a two-year-old. But documentation began, family trees developed in those early times and now, 20 years later, the genealogy of our local dolphins has resulted in three different moms that have birthed seven calves each, also creating eleven grandmothers since the study started. We currently have an adult female named Avery who could give birth this Fall, making her the first documented mom with eight offspring. Also, young female Fireball could have her first calf this year, creating our first known great-grandmother.

The other two moms who have had seven offspring each are Halfway and Darwina. Halfway has not been seen in the area for more than two years. Darwina is still nursing a six-month-old and may have to wait a few years before having her eighth baby. Calves typically stay with mom for three years.

With a society in our waters of fifteen adult males and forty adult females, the team has watched the average number of births per year climb from six or seven per year to ten per year in the last decade. Very simply, the more adult females that are here, the more babies we will see. This trend is expected to continue.

In the early years, the male society consisted of six dominant adults, which formed three pairs of two each. These were the “kings of the jungle” and had been of force for nearly two decades. However, in the last couple of years, the team has documented that some of these top six are getting older, and some of the younger, now very mature males will be fighting for those top spots. Although a male may mature at about twelve years of age, the dominant males are much more experienced concerning their roles in society, and the younger males still need time and experience to challenge their elders for a place on the podium.

Our ecosystem is the key to these residential dolphins not migrating. Long before humans arrived here, these dolphins were fishing and thriving in the shallow channels and sandbars, and there has never been a shortage of food for them. The low density of commercial operations here also helps with cleaner water. The mangrove islands provide a great hunting ground as well. Nearly eighty-five percent of all commercial fish consumed here spend a portion of their lives among the mangroves, providing an excellent variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for these cetaceans.

Finally, shallow waters such as ours also mean predators here do not get very big. Young dolphins, from birth to three years old, need to be careful of bull sharks and hammerheads.

However, by the time a youngster reaches three to four years old, they will be too big and too fast for these local predators to pursue them. This is great for the survival rate of young to reach adulthood; this is the place they want to grow up.

The key to collecting all of this data has been the personnel. The original crew of Kent Morse and Chris Desmond are now deceased, but they carved a path and created a program that is now utilized by the current team. We now consist of a Marine Biologist, an Environmental Scientist with a master’s degree, and three Florida Master Naturalists. 

Ideas, theories, and final facts are bantered around quite often until the team agrees with their findings. Quarterly reports of the team’s results are sent to colleges, other dolphin studies, government agencies, wildlife specialists, and more. These reports for 2024 can be viewed on the company website dolphin-study.com.

If there is one thing that the current team agrees upon is that there is a constant change among our dolphins’ habits. Travel ranges have varied, some babies stay with moms for a longer time recently, and the ratio of males to females is widening in favor of the females.

These are important issues regarding the longevity and stability of our dolphin population staying in the area.

The team’s motto of “Passion, Integrity, Education” continues to produce important results for locals and the scientific community. Year twenty will create new adventures and a wealth of new data for us to share with whoever is interested.

To our predecessors, thank you for the pioneer work to establish this study program. Per the previous owner, our program was the first independent dolphin research venture in the United States. To the current staff, keep up the outstanding work of documenting and recording important data that is vital to the dolphin study communities not only in Florida but around the world.

For me, personally, it has been an honor to work among such talented individuals, to learn from them, and to contribute my findings as well. I look forward to future treasures and tidbits that await our journey together. Being involved in three life-saving rescues of our dolphin family has been more than rewarding; it has been an awakening!

What lies ahead in the next decade of study? It is unknown at this time, but without a doubt, our local dolphins will educate us humans about what they are doing. We will learn, and we will educate the public in every facet possible. We will respect nature and all that it has to offer! And here’s a challenge to the readers…..will you do the same? Cherish every wildlife sighting that you can experience and respect the blessings of every encounter!

Bob is the lead Naturalist for the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Research Project on board The Dolphin Explorer. He is the author of two books and twice a national award-winning columnist for Coastal Breeze News. A speaker at area venues on a regular basis, he is passionate about educating the public concerning our environment. Bob loves his wife very much!