DOLPHIN SURVEY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FT. PIERCE, FL - The Dolphin Research and Conservation Program at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution is looking for dedicated volunteers to participate in a newly established Dolphin Monitoring Network. Volunteers are needed to survey the five inlets (Ponce, Sebastian, Ft. Pierce, St. Lucie, and Jupiter) connecting the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) to the Atlantic Ocean. The goal of the program is to compile and enter observations into a database that will be used in the study of the IRL wild dolphin population. The land-based inlet survey will document dolphin movement patterns and use of the five inlets. This survey, along with other scientific survey efforts, will be the most comprehensive volunteer-based dolphin-monitoring program ever undertaken in this region. Interested persons should contact Dolphin Survey Volunteer Coordinator Steven Schafer at (772) 465-2400, ext. 648 or via e-mail dolphin@hboi.edu. The wild dolphin population of the 156-mile long Indian River Lagoon is poorly understood. Several surveys have been conducted in various parts of the IRL, but none encompassing the entire lagoon system. As an apex predator, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a key indicator species to the health and viability of their ecosystem. Therefore, understanding the status and composition of the IRL dolphin stock will directly reflect our understanding of the IRL system itself. Effective conservation programs require a basic knowledge of distinct population units, or stocks, to be managed. Critical to management decisions is the description of the stock, including its geographic range. There are currently insufficient data to allow separation of locally resident bottlenose dolphins (from the IRL) from the coastal stock in the western north Atlantic. Understanding movement patterns between the IRL and Atlantic Ocean can aid in the overall picture of dolphin utilization of the IRL in terms of seasonal variation and abundance, and may aid in defining a resident IRL population. The program will serve to compliment the existing HBOI Dolphin Photo-Identification Study of the IRL population. The Dolphin Research Team is collecting valuable baseline data and compiling a photo-ID catalog in order to understand movement and distribution, and to assess stock structure. HBOI photo-ID researchers operate under a General Authorization for scientific research from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Protected Resources. Relevant data from all programs will be submitted to the NMFS to contribute information that may be helpful in developing conservation policy and managing the resource. The ultimate goal of the HBOI Dolphin Research Program is to aid in the protection and conservation of one of Florida’s greatest natural treasures, the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Inc. is one of the world’s leading not-for-profit oceanographic research organizations, dedicated to the exploration of the earth’s oceans, estuaries and coastal regions, for the benefit of mankind.