The International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) recently honored Dolphin Research Center (DRC) with two awards at its 2010 conference held in early December in Boston, MA. DRC Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Armando “Mandy Rodriguez” and the late Jayne Shannon Rodriguez, who co-founded the facility and served as President and CEO, received the Sonny Allen Professional Achievement Award. A presentation on DRC’s latest published research study, Blindfolded Imitation in Bottlenose Dolphins, given by Research Director Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, was selected as the Best Research Presentation by a panel of judges.
The Sonny Allen award publicly recognizes professional members who are considered to have made unique contributions to marine animal training, public display, conservation, education, husbandry and/or research, in keeping with IMATA’s goals and objectives. Potential recipients are nominated by professional peers and the IMATA Board of Directors then determines who will receive the honor. Jayne and Mandy began their careers working with marine mammals in the late 1960s, coming to the Florida Keys in 1972. They founded Dolphin Research Center in 1984, and under their leadership, the facility has grown into an internationally known nonprofit education and research organization.
The research project demonstrates that dolphins have the ability to imitate each other without using their eyesight, relying instead on sound and echolocation. This ability has never been shown in any animal other than humans.
IMATA is dedicated to advancing the humane care and handling of marine animals by fostering communication between professionals that serve marine animal science through training, public display, research, husbandry, conservation and education.
Dolphin Research Center is home to a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. The facility is located on the Overseas Highway at mile marker 59, Grassy Key, Florida. DRC is an accredited member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. For more information, call 305-289-1121 or visit www.dolphins.org.
