Since 2001, DCP has been studying a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the waters around Bimini, a small Bahamian island along the Great Bahama Bank. Each field season has been extremely successful and, as we continue to collaborate with Bill & Nowdla Keefe's Wild Dolphin Adventures and Bimini Adventures, we now have over 90 individual dolphins in our Photo-ID catalog. In 2006, we also began systematic documentation of the common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the area. That fledging Photo-ID catalog as 38 individuals and we look forward to adding more!

The purpose of DCP’s research here is to analyze the group dynamics of dolphins found on the Great Bahama Bank, north of Bimini. Identification of individual dolphins and examination of their association patterns provides details and insight into their social structure and behavior. We will continue to examine if any of the identified dolphins match those individuals observed farther north, along the White Sand Ridge. To read more background information, click here .

The 2011 Bimini field season is once again being conducted by DCP Research Associate Kelly Sweeting . This will be Kel's ninth summer season in Bimini, and she continues to be there year-round, in hopes of collecting more non-summer data. As always, we are extremely excited about this year’s research. We look forward to the students who will join us and all of the dolphin swim guests we'll meet along the way.

Kel will be keeping folks around the world up to date on the research by posting regular field reports. Click on a posting below to see what we (and the dolphins) have been up to! Click on the links below for information on how you can support DCP's Bimini research program:

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