Entering the World of Dolphins:

Research So Compelling That Andy Read Rarely Takes a Holiday p.5

One solution that appears not to work with bottlenose dolphins is to install small sound-emitting alarms called "pingers" on the nets. Studies by Read's group off Fort Macon show that this species, at least in North Carolina, is not deterred by pingers like some other marine mammals that avoid novel things and situations. By contrast, bottlenose dolphins "like to investigate new stimuli," Read said.

In general, the bottlenose dolphin seems to be a particularly "plastic" species, he said, meaning able "to evolve and adapt itself to life in a big variety of different circumstances." Those living offshore of Beaufort might live their entire lives without seeing land, he notes, whereas those inhabiting coastal waters seems to prefer the shallower depths of estuaries, bays and rivers. Found throughout the world in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters, they are also "able to adapt to human activities fairly well," he notes. "You can see bottlenose dolphins in pristine salt march ecosystems, and you can see them equally at home in the port of Morehead City, which is dredged and has cement sides."

In the summer of 2000 Read's group was funded by Sea Grant to survey all inner waters of North Carolina for bottlenose dolphins, in part to assess the effects of mortality from commercial fishing. There was a large-scale dolphin dieoff in 1987-88 caused by a virus producing symptoms similar to canine distemper. The survey, which identified about 1,200 animals, was done from boats using cameras for documentation. Individual animals were identified by natural nicks or bite scars or fishing net wounds on their back fins, which serve as equivalents of fingerprints. Read's wife, Kim Urian, an independent biologist currently affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, is curator of a catalog of bottlenose dolphin fin photos covering the entire East Coast, funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

In addition to spending time on his research and with his students, Read serves on the Marine Mammal Protection Act "take reduction teams," where scientists, fishermen, environmentalists and government officials negotiate rules limiting inadvertent dolphin deaths due to fishing.

And somehow he finds time to teach two core courses at the Duke Marine Lab, one on the Biology of Marine Mammals and another on Marine Conservation Biology. The first "is a popular course, because people like marine mammals," he said. "But we strive to teach fundamental principles, using marine mammals as examples." The latter, early-summer course, coordinated by Crowder-who heads the other largest lab at the Marine Lab-"is really interesting to teach, because marine conservation biology is a young and emerging field," Read said.

"Most conservation biology is focused on terrestrial systems, and terrestrial systems conservation rightly focuses on protecting habitat like tropical rain forests. In the marine world, habitat loss is not the primary threat to diversity. The primary threat comes from exploitation, the direct and indirect effect of fisheries.

"So we take the fundamental concepts of conservation biology and then show students how we have to change those if we're interested in conserving marine diversity. There are very few places that do that, and we are one of the best places in the world."

Monte Basgall is senior science writer in Duke's Office of Research Communications

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