Research Careers
Thank you for your interest in careers related to marine mammal research. If you are interested in marine mammals, there are many career paths you can choose to work with them or for them. The opportunities for conducting research vary depending on your setting.
How should I prepare educationally for my research career?
It’s never too early to start preparing for your research career. While in middle and high school, you can gain valuable knowledge and experiences in the field of biology. You will need lots of math and science classes to gain a strong background for college.
In order to work with marine mammal research, you will need a minimum of a 4-year degree, although a Masters or PhD is usually necessary to conduct your own research projects. Common undergraduate majors are Biology, Behavioral Ecology, Marine Biology, Psychology, or Animal Behavior.
The college you choose will depend on your interests. You must first decide the area in which you would like to major. Your library will have a book of colleges to help you determine the schools in the U.S. that offer your intended major. Look for schools that offer biology or animal behavior and psychology majors. You can then look at the size, location and cost of the listed colleges to help you narrow-down your choices. We have a list of colleges and universities in Florida on our website (www.dolphins.org) that offer biology majors. Look under the section called “Marine Education”.
Once you find your top three choices, you should try to visit the schools to see if they meet your needs. Talk to both faculty and students to learn about the positive and negative aspects of the school. If possible try to spend a night with a current student in your future major and attend at least one or two classes. Also, make sure the professors in your department will be supportive of your future career and will be able to assist you in achieving your goals. The school career centers also have helpful resources for students, so you may want to see what your potential schools have to offer their graduates.
Should I study biology or psychology?
That depends on your interests! Biologists typically study a species’ physiology, naturally occurring behaviors, or characteristics of an entire population, such as home range, diet, or social groupings. Psychologists are commonly interested in topics that are more internal that can be experimentally investigated using a small number of animals. Cognition is a good example, which is the mental capacity to think critically, analyze and problem solve.
However, there are several areas where the interests of biologists and psychologists overlap. For example, echolocation is an active area of research by both biologists and psychologists. A biologist may investigate what anatomical structures produce echolocation clicks, or the sound characteristics (frequency, amplitude, etc.) of the clicks. A psychologist may examine what kind of information the dolphin receives from echolocation – an echo-image, or simply a sound pattern that they’ve encountered before with other senses.
As a general rule, biologists are more likely to study wild populations, and psychologists are more likely to study individuals in human care.
What types of research are there?
Observational with wild populations – People who do this type of research usually go out into the ocean in a boat and observe marine mammals in their natural environment. They may photograph them for identification, record the sounds that they make, or record their behavior during specific situations. Some studies are land-based in which the animals are observed with binoculars. Some examples of this type of research are population counts, photo I.D. projects that track individuals over time, or interactions with boaters. Research with wild dolphins sounds glamorous and can be at times. Do not be disillusioned, however, it is often frustrating not to see whales, the weather and ocean can often be harsh, and much of the time is still spent back at the “lab” identifying individuals and analyzing results. Some researchers take this route, because it is very rewarding when successful.
Observational with human care populations – Since it is difficult to observe marine mammals in their own environment (i.e., underwater, moving quickly), many projects are carried out with animals that are in human care facilities. These types of studies usually focus on behavior. Some studies record information about a specific behavior that occurs during normal social interactions. Other studies introduce a stimulus to the animal’s environment and then record the response. Some examples of this type of research are studying calf development, mother-calf relationships, and recording and cataloging whistles with associated behaviors.
Behavioral with human care populations – This type of research involves training animals to perform specific behaviors and then recording their responses. In the training phase of the project, the subject learns what stimulus it is supposed to pay attention to and how to respond. In the testing phase, the stimulus is usually varied to see how the animal interprets the new information. Some examples of questions that can be studied with behavioral methods are audiograms (hearing thresholds), visual acuity (eyesight test), communication, imitation, and cognition
Behavioral research with wild marine mammals is impractical and often impossible.
Physiological – This type of research is often carried out by veterinarians or people with medical backgrounds. Some projects involve conducting medical tests, such as collecting blood samples. Others involve studying animals that have died (often from strandings) to learn things such as the reason for stranding, the amount of toxins in the blubber, stomach contents, or to be able to describe internal anatomy.
Should I volunteer or intern?
Yes! It can be quite difficult to get your foot in the door of a marine mammal facility. The best way to gain valuable hands–on experience is to complete volunteer work or an internship at a facility that has animals (they don’t necessarily have to be dolphins). Many colleges require or strongly advise these programs because they enable you to learn while in the field. An internship will help you to determine whether or not you want to continue to pursue a research career and what aspect of research you may want to participate in. People often have a glorified image of working with marine mammals and do not realize the hard work and dedication it takes to succeed in the field. DRC offers both volunteer and intern programs for individuals 18 and over. We even offer a Research Intern volunteer position typically each semester. You can find information about our programs at Dolphin Research Center.
*Many of DRC’s staff members participated in our volunteer and intern program before being hired as employees. Many facilities look highly upon the dedication and commitment necessary to be a volunteer.*
Are there any programs to help me learn about research and dolphins?
Participation in programs like our week long DolphinLab can be very helpful. DolphinLab introduces you to the overall operation of a marine mammal facility and educates you about topics such as training, husbandry, physiology, maternity, stranding, conservation, research, and more. This program also lets you get up close and personal with the dolphins through swims and dock interactions. DolphinLab exposes you to many different career opportunities in the marine mammal field and helps you to determine your area of interest. We also offer a specific research DolphinLab course for adults. You can find more information about DolphinLab programs on our web page at DolphinLab. We hope to see you soon!
What are the average salary and benefits of a researcher?
Marine mammal scientists enter this field for the satisfaction of the work, not for the money-making potential of the career. Salaries vary greatly among marine mammal scientists, with government and industry jobs having the highest pay. Salary levels will increase with years of experience and graduate degrees, but generally remain low considering the amount of experience and education needed. High competition in this field most likely will keep salaries at a modest level. A 1990 survey of 1,234 mammalogists conducted by the American Society of Mammalogists indicated that 42.7% of the respondents earned >$40,000/year. 21.2% of the respondents fell into the $30,000-$40,000 range. (Quoted from The Society of Marine Mammalogy.)
What are the positive and negative aspects of your job?
The job varies considerably depending on what kind of research you do and at what level you are in your career. The best part about being a marine mammal researcher is that you are constantly discovering new things about the animals that interest you, things that no one else has known before. Much of the information that comes out of research projects contributes to better protection or greater understanding of the species. For example, because facilities have tracked physiology and development so closely with the dolphins in their care, researchers of wild dolphins have “standards” that they can compare with the dolphins they study.
Another positive aspect is the amount of time you can spend observing the animals just being themselves.
One negative aspect is that research can be very repetitive and monotonous. In behavioral research, it often takes several hundred trials to have enough statistical power to analyze the results. Likewise with observational research, you must record the exact same behaviors, filling out the exact same data sheets, for extended periods of time. For some people, the routine can become quite tedious.
How do I get to work directly with the animals?
If your goal is to have direct contact with marine mammals on a daily basis, then you would most likely need to become a trainer. However, trainers usually don’t get to do research, although they may assist researchers in some cases. If your character and skills are more suited for other careers in the field, then there are many other ways you can work in a marine mammal environment. Here are a few examples:
Veterinarian: As a marine mammal veterinarian, you are responsible for the care and health of the animals. You will conduct medical procedures and check-ups. You will assess their needs and monitor their diets, vitamins and medicine. You may be a full-time marine mammal veterinarian or you may have a private practice for domestic animals and be affiliated with a facility that has dolphins or sea lions.
Veterinary Technician: A vet tech assists the veterinarian with medical procedures and check-ups. Often, facilities may have a full-time vet tech that oversees general medical care and diet planning of the marine mammals. Veterinary technicians may oversee diet records and analyze specimens collected from animals.
Animal Care: Some larger facilities have marine mammals that do not participate in training sessions, and will be cared for by animal care staff members. These animals may include stranded dolphins undergoing recovery or manatees. Animal care staff will prepare diets, feed animals and clean exhibits.
Educator: As an education staff member at DRC, you teach seminars and lead workshops on a variety of marine mammal topics. At DRC, you focus on our week-long program called DolphinLab. Educators also respond to requests for information from the public, visit schools and community organizations for outreach programs, and create exciting classroom activities. At DRC our senior education instructors have the opportunity to be trained to work directly with the dolphins. Some facilities teach with live marine animals, such as invertebrates, and educators are responsible for bringing them into the classroom for hands-on education. At many zoos, a variety of animals may be used for hands-on learning and the education staff may be asked to not only show these animals in presentations, but also be their primary caregivers.
We have listed a few of the many career options that are available at a marine mammal facility. Look for opportunities in management, media, marketing, accounting, human resources, program development, computer programming, ground and tank maintenance, customer service, photographers, videographers, dolphin assisted therapy, medical, and much more.
What books or references would help me to find out more about research and other careers in the marine mammal field?
“Careers in Marine Biology,” Jay Hemdal (Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Vol 10, Feb. 1987, pg. 66-67).
“I’ll do Anything to Work with Whales or Dolphins!” Valerie Chase (Current, 1992, 11 (1): 31-33).
“Training and Careers in Marine Science: An Information Packet “
Available for a small fee from:
International Oceanographic Foundation
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149
“Strategies For Pursuing A Career In Marine Mammal Science” by the Society of Marine Mammalogy. Available at http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~odell/strat.htm.
