Data resulted from dolphins during/capture release sampling for health assessments.

These data sets include a compilation of small vessel based studies of bottlenose dolphins that reside within Biscayne Bay, Florida, adjacent estuaries and nearshore coastal waters. The data consist primarily of photo-identification studies that use natural markings on animal dorsal fins to identify individuals over time. Surveys consist of line transects aboard small boats with concentrated effort to collect photographs of individuals. These photographs are reviewed to identify and catalog individual animals. In addition, several targeted studies have been conducted within this program to collect tissue biopsy samples for genetic and contaminant analyses. These data are used to examine demographic structure and population dynamics of the Biscayne Bay Estuarine System stock of bottlenose dolphins.

Small vessel surveys are conducted within estuarine and nearshore coastal waters to collect tissue biopsy samples from bottlenose dolphins. Visual surveys are conducted to find bottlenose dolphin groups, and then close approaches are made to collect tissue samples using specialized darts that are deployed using either air rifles or crossbow. Photographs are collected during the encounter to identify individuals and document the response to the sample collection. The skin and blubber samples collected support genetics, stable isotope, and contaminant analyses. These data have been used to delineate different stocks of bottlenose dolphins in estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico.

Data from satellite tags on bottlenose dolphins

Data from these surveys have been used to track location and amount of survey effort during field projects.

These data sets include a compilation of small vessel based studies of bottlenose dolphins that reside within Mississippi Sound and nearshore coastal waters. The data consist primarily of photo-identification studies that use natural markings on animal dorsal fins to identify individuals over time. Surveys consist of line transects aboard small boats with concentrated effort to collect photographs of individuals. These photographs are reviewed to identify and catalog individual animals. In addition, several targeted studies have been conducted within this program to collect tissue biopsy samples for genetic and contaminant analyses. These data are used to examine demographic structure and population dynamics of the Mississippi Sound stock of bottlenose dolphins.

These data sets include a compilation of small vessel based studies of bottlenose dolphins that reside within Barataria Bay, LA, Mississippi Sound, MS and nearshore coastal waters. The data consist primarily of photo-identification studies that use natural markings on animal dorsal fins to identify individuals over time. Surveys consist of line transects aboard small boats with concentrated effort to collect photographs of individuals. These photographs are reviewed to identify and catalog individual animals. In addition, several targeted studies have been conducted within this program to collect tissue biopsy samples for genetics, stable isotope, and contaminant analyses. These data have been used to support estimates of reproductive success and estimate abundance of bottlenose dolphins in support of the injury assessment for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

It has been shown through a variety of photo-identification studies that populations of bottlenose dolphin inhabit the various embayments along the coast of Florida. Knowledge of population stock structure is critical to developing management plans and understanding how stressors impact individual populations. Researchers have found that photo-identification is one of the best ways to study populations of bottlenose dolphin in near shore environments. Unlike aerial and ship-board surveys, individual dolphins can be identified and tracked temporally and spatially, giving investigators a more comprehensive picture of population stock structure

To observe the NC stop net fishery to document the entanglement of bottlenose dolphins and movement of dolphins around the nets.

The NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center conducted a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) photo-identification mark-recapture and biological sampling project in Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida from 24 July to 30 August in 2007. A model-averaged estimate of the superpopulation of bottlenose dolphins in and around Choctawhatchee Bay was 232 (SE = 13) animals. Estimated resident abundance was 179 (SE = 8), which was lower than the number of unique animals encountered (n=188). This data collection includes dorsal fin photographs and sighting histories for unique photo-identified individual dolphins, including information about spatial distribution, mark characteristics, biological samples obtained, and GIS data such as survey track and waypoint files.