[GRASSY KEY, FL] The week of March 6, DRC Research Specialist Abigail Haddock received the First Place award in Research Advancements at the 2023 IMATA/ABMA Joint Conference. This was in recognition of her work on a research paper about anthropogenic noise published on January 12, 2023 in Current Biology. DRC collaborated with Pernille Sørensen and Dr. Stephanie King from University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences in a research study revealing fascinating information about how dolphins working collaboratively are less successful in the presence of sound generated by humans. Dr King explained: “We show that human-made noise directly affects the success of animals working together. If noise makes groups of wild animals less efficient at performing cooperative actions, such as cooperative foraging, then this could have important negative consequences for individual health, and ultimately population health.”
DRC also gave several presentations at the conference. Along with Abigail Haddock’s presentation on the anthropogenic noise study, Research Coordinator Sarah Brignac presented her paper on trainer interaction improving the wellbeing of isolated animals published in the Journal of Zoological and Biological Gardens. This paper featured Ranger, a dolphin that was rescued from Texas and came to live at DRC last year. DRC Director of Research Dr. Kelly Jaakkola and DRC Vice President of Animal care and Training Linda Erb presenting in a panel alongside Ken Ramirez titled “Beyond Welfare”.
Founded in 1984, Dolphin Research Center is home to a family of bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. Located at 58901 (mile marker 59) Overseas Highway, Grassy Key, Florida, the center is open daily for the public to see narrated behavior sessions and educational presentations, and to participate in interactive programs. The nonprofit organization is funded by admission and program fees as well as by private donors and members. In addition to being a highly respected education and research facility, DRC is the Licensed Manatee Rescue Team for the Florida Keys and is an accredited member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and the International Marine Animal Trainers Association. For more information, visit www.dolphins.org.
