DOLPHIN RESEARCH CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING OUR OWN ENVIRONMENT FORT PIERCE, FLA., March 16 Ð Millions of viewers learned to love dolphins through the popular TV show "Flipper", and were amazed at how smart he seemed to be. As it turns out dolphins can tell us a lot more about the world around us than we ever dreamed possible. Steve McCulloch and Marilyn Mazzoil, Directors of the Dolphin Research and Conservation Program at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, will discuss what's being learned about man's interaction with the environment through their study of dolphins, in the ninth in this year's series of Ocean Science Lectures. The presentation will begin at 7pm, Thursday, March 16, in the J. Seward Johnson Marine Education and Conference Center on the Harbor Branch Oceanographic campus. Cost is $3 for associates and $6 for the general public. One aspect of dolphin research in the Indian River Lagoon involves the photo identification program, and researchers have identified more than 400 individual dolphins since they began the project. Learning the "big picture" of how the dolphins live and behave, and how healthy their environment is, is a key to understanding our own world, McCulloch said. A big part of the dolphin research program is the Dolphin Hospital and Dolphin Ambulance, which were recently completed and have already been used several times to respond to marine mammal strandings. McCulloch will discuss why it's important to respond to these events, and what can be learned from studying these animals, even when their sick or, in the worst case, after they die. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Inc. is one of the world's leading nonprofit oceanographic research organizations dedicated to the exploration of the earth's oceans, estuaries and coastal regions for the benefit of mankind.