Outreach Corner

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Frequently Asked Questions about Dolphin SMART

For some of our most frequently asked questions about the Dolphin SMART program, be sure to visit Dolphin SMART FAQ's.

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Leave a comment or ask our experts a specific question about wild dolphins and Dolphin SMART!

Outreach Materials

Dolphin SMART Brochure Southeast U.S. (2.5MB)
Dolphin SMART Brochure Hawaiian Islands (2.7MB)
Dolphin SMART Brochure Hawaiian Islands (Japanese) (1.7MB)
Marine Mammals and Sea Turtle Viewing Guidelines (3.2M)
Marine Mammals and Sea Turtle Viewing Guidelines (Spanish) (3.2M)
SEE & ID Dolphins & Whales/ Dolphin & Whale 911 Smartphone Apps (6.6M)
How You Can Help a Stranded Marine Mammal (1.3MB)
Bottlenose Dolphin Fact Sheet (354K)
Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin FAQ's (188K)
Marine Mammals of Hawaii (235K)
Protect Wild Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins Brochure (1.3MB)
Wild Dolphin Behaviors- Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins (264K)
Dolphin SMART Kids Activity Guide(168K)
Wild Dolphin Interaction Fact Sheet (24K)
Protect Dolphins FAQs (32K)
Dolphin Depredation FAQs (48K)
Watch that Wildlife brochure (1.8MB)
Dolphin Behavior Fact Sheet (2.2MB)
Dolphin Friendly Fishing Tips (2.2MB)
Dolphin Friendly Fishing Tips (Espanol) (2.2MB)
Prevent Entanglement brochure (280K)
Protect Dolphins brochure (1.4MB)

Links to other Education tools

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society Educational Programs

Year of the Dolphin

Supporting Literature

(To download copies of articles available electronically, click on highlighted titles)

Allen, M.C. and A.J. Read.  2000.  Habitat Selection of Foraging Bottlenose Dolphins in Relation to Boast Density Near Clearwater, Florida.  Marine Mammal Science 16(4):815-824. 

Bejder, L and A. Samuels.  2004.  Evaluating the Effects of Nature-Based Tourism on Cetaceans.  Pages 229-256 in Marine Mammals: Fisheries, Tourism and Management Issues (N. Gales, M. Hindell and R. Kirkwood, eds.).

Bejder, L.  2005.  Linking Short- and Long-Term Effects of Nature-Based Tourism on Cetaceans.  MS Thesis for Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia.  157pp.

Bejder, L., A. Samuels, H. Whitehead, and N. Gales. 2006. Interpreting short-term behavioural responses to disturbance within a longitudinal perspective. Animal Behaviour, doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.004.003.

Bejder, L., A. Samuels, H. Whitehead, N. Gales, J. Mann, R. Connor, M. Heithaus, J. Watson-Capps, C. Flaherty, and M. Krutzen.  2006. Decline in Relative Abundance of Bottlenose Dolphins Exposed to Long-Term Disturbance.  Conservation Biology doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00540.x.  Published online: 9-Aug-2006. (http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/cbi/0/0)

Colborn, K.  1999.  Interactions Between Humans and Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, near Panama City, Florida.  MS Thesis for Duke University, North Carolina.  45 pp. 

Cope, M., D. St, Aubain, and J. Thomas.  1999.  The Effect of Boat Activity on the Behavior of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Nearshore Waters of Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Abstracts of the 13th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Wailea, Hawaii, November 28-December 3, 1999.  37 pp.  

Constantine, R. 1999.  Effects of Tourism on Marine Mammals in New Zealand.  SciConservation:  106.  Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. 60 pp.  

Constantine, R.  2001.  Increased Avoidance of Swimmers by Wild Bottlenose Dolphins(Tursiops truncatus) Due to Long-term Exposure to Swim-With-Dolphin Tourism. Marine Mammal Science, 17(4): 689-7. 

Constantine, R., D.H. Brunton, T. Dennis.  2004.  Dolphin-Watching Tour Boats Change Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Behaviour.  Biological Conservation 117: 299-307.

Corubis, S.S.  2004.  Behavior of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in Response to Vessels/Swimmers.  MS Thesis for San Francisco State University, California.  209 pp.

Cunningham-Smith, P., D.E. Colbert, R.S. Wells, and T. Speakman.  2006. Evaluation of Human Interactions with a Provisioned Wild Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) near Sarasota Bay, Florida, and Efforts to Curtail the Interactions.  Aquatic Mammals 32(3):  346-356, DOI 10.1578/AM.32.3.2006.346

Danil, K., D. Maldini, and K. Marten.  2005.  Patterns of Use of Maku’a Beach, O’ahu, Hawai’I, by Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris) and Potential Effects of Swimmers on Their Behavior.  Aquatic Mammals 31(4): 403-412.

Delfour, F. 2007. Hawaiian spinner dolphins and the growing dolphin watching activity in Oahu. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87: 109-112.

Forest, A. 2001. The Hawaiian spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris: Effects of tourism. Masters Thesis, Texas A&M University. 91 pp.

Goodwin, L. and P.A. Cotton.  2004.  Effects of Boat Traffic on the Behaviour of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).  Aquatic Mammals 30(2): 279-283.

Hastie, G.D., B. Wilson, L.H. Tufft, P.M. Thompson.  2003.  Bottlenose Dolphin Increase Breathing Synchrony in Response to Boat Traffic.  Marine Mammal Science 19(1): 74-84.

Higham, J.E.S., L. Bejder, and D. Lusseau. 2009. An integrated and adaptive management model to address the long-term sustainability of tourist interactions with cetaceans. Environmental Conservation 35 (4): 294-302.

Janik, V.M. and P.M. Thompson.  1996.  Changes in surfacing patterns of bottlenose dolphins in response to boat traffic.  Marine Mammal Science, 12(4): 597-602. 

Lammers, M.O. 2004. Occurrence and behavior of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) along Oahu's leeward and south shores. Aquatic Mammals 30(2): 237-250.

Latusek, J.N.  2002.  Impact on Boat Traffic on Bottlenose Dolphins in Core Creek, NC, with a Case Study of Dolphin-Watch Activities and Consumer Perspectives.  MS Thesis submitted for Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences of Duke University.

NMFS.  1994.  Report to Congress on Results of Feeding Wild Dolphins:  1989-1994.  NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources.  23pp.

Norris, K.S., B. Wz;rsig , R.S. Wells and M. Würsig (Eds.). 1994. The Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin. University of California Press, Berkeley.

Norris, K.S. and T.P. Dohl. 1980. Behavior of the Hawaiian spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris. Fishery Bulletin, 77(4):821-849.

Notarbartolo-Di-Sciara, G., M.H. Hanafy, M.M. Fouda, A. Afifi, and M. Costa. 2008.Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) resting habitat in Samadai Reef (Egypt, Red Sea) protected through tourism management. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 89(1): 211-216.

Nowacek, S.M.  1999.  The Effects of Boat Traffic on Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay, Florida.  MS Thesis for University of California Santa Cruz, USA. 

Nowacek, S.M., R.S. Wells, and A.R. Solow.  2001.  Short-term Effects of Boat Traffic on Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay, Florida.  Marine Mammal Science 17: 673-688.

Östman-Lind, J., A. Driscoll-Lind and S.H. Rickards. 2004. Delphinid abundance, distribution and habitat use off the western coast of the Island of Hawaii. NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center Administrative Report LJ-04-02C. 28 pp.

Reynolds, J.E. and R.S. Wells.  2003.  Dolphins, Whales and Manatees of Florida: A Guide to Sharing Their World.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.  150 pp.

Ross, G. 2001. Response of Hawaiian spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris, to boat presence in Midway Atoll. Masters Thesis, San Francisco State University. 74 pp.

Samuels, A., L. Bejder, and S. Heinrich.  2000.  A Review of the Literature Pertaining to Swimming with Wild Dolphins.  Prepared for the Marine Mammal Commission. 

Samuels, A. and L. Bejder.  2004.  Chronic Interaction Between Humans and Free- Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins Near Panama City Beach, Florida, USA.  Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 6(1): 69-77.

Scarpaci, C. D. Nugegoda, and P.J. Corkeron.  2004.  No Detectable Improvement in Compliance to Regulations by “Swim-With-Dolphins” Operators in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia.  Tourism in Marine Environments 1(1): 41-48.

Spradlin, T.R., J.K. Drevenak, A.D. Terbush, and E.T. Nitta.  1999.  Interactions Between the Public and Wild Dolphins in the United States:  Biological Concerns and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Presented at the “Wild Dolphin Swim-With Workshop” at the 13th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November 28, 1999.

Spradlin, T.R., L.M. Barre, J.K. Lewandowski, and E.T. Nitta.  2001.  Too Close for Comfort:  Concern About the Growing Trend in Public Interactions with Wild Marine Mammals.  Marine Mammal Society Newsletter, October 2001, Vol. 9, No. 3.

Timmel, G., S. Courbis, H. Sargeant-Green, and H. Markowitz. 2008. Effects of human traffic on the movement patterns of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii. Aquatic Mammals 34(4): 402-411

Wells, R.S.  1993.  The Marine Mammals of Sarasota Bay.  Pages 9.1-9.23 in P. Roat, C. Ciciccolella, H. Smith and D. Tomoasko, eds.  Sarasota Bay:  1992 Framework for Action.  Published by the Sarasota National Estuary Program, 5333 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Fl. 

Wells, R.S. and M.D. Scott.  1997.  Seasonal Incidence of Boat Strikes on Bottlenose Dolphins Near Sarasota, Florida.  Marine Mammal Science 13(3): 475-480.

Wells, R.S., S. Hoffman, and T.L. Moors.  1998.  Entanglement and Mortality of Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Recreational Fishing Gear in Florida.  Fishery Bulletin 96:647-650.

Whitt, A.D. and A.J. Read.  2006.  Assessing Compliance to Guidelines by Dolphin-Watching Operators in Clearwater, Florida, USA.  Tourism in Marine Environments, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 117-130.

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