UNF Marine Mammal Research Team

The last survey of our summer dolphin course was definitely eventful. One of our engines failed soon after launching, but we still managed to collect a lot of data. One of the most exciting sightings of the day was a large group containing at least 5 male alliance pairs; it's unusual to see that many alliances together and there was definitely some tension. After a charge by one alliance they all took off on a high-speed chase. At the end of day we found a large group of moms and calves including several newborns; one of them was so new that its whiskers were still visible. In the same area we found a dolphin with significant wounds (possible shark attack) to its dorsal fin; due to the amount of damage it's going to take some detective work to figure out who this is. We also watched a group of moms and calves bow ride on the front of a passing tanker. We'll be taking a break for a week and will start back up soon with an all new crew of students!

Yesterday's survey included a mix of intensely socializing juvenile groups, moms and calves, and a few male alliances consorting with females. Surprisingly, Ernie (adult male) was hanging out with a group of moms and calves without his alliance partner (Grover). This is extremely rare as Ernie and Grover have been tightly bonded since 2015 when Ernie's original alliance partner (Kermit) died. We saw Ernie several times throughout the day and Grover was nowhere to be found; we really hope he's ok.

We ended the day following another male alliance (Spartacus and Calypso) upriver until they found a female they were interested in joining (Gaia). As we watched this interaction, another adult female came splashing through the group doing repeated side-slaps as she continued downriver. Her behavior was really unusual because there weren't any dolphins chasing her and she continued side-slapping when she was far away from the group. We noticed that she landed on her left side every time though, so we're wondering if she was trying to dislodge a remora.

Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸 If you'll be on the water this weekend, please remember to keep a lookout for dolphins and other wildlife. During yesterday's survey we saw several boats drive straight through groups of dolphins at high speed. In one case, we even heard people on the boat excitedly yelling "dolphins!" as they drove straight through a group containing two newborns at high speed. Please don't assume they will get out of your way; it's breeding season and newborn calves are naive to boats and can't dive very well yet. Even the adults have a hard time when boat traffic is high; they may dive to avoid one boat and when they come up for a breath another boat is headed straight for them. If you see dolphins, please slow down and give them a chance. 🐬❤️ We're wishing everyone a safe and festive weekend!

On Monday our Research Team made a visit to UNF’s Eco-Camp to teach the kids about our local dolphins. 🐬 ❤️ After a short presentation by Dr. Gibson, the campers rotated through different hands-on activities. The “blubber glove” station is always a favorite; who doesn’t want to stick their hands in a cooler filled with ice when it’s 100 degrees outside? The kids also had fun testing out our equipment, matching dolphin fins, and holding a dolphin skull. Here’s hoping a few of them grow up to become Ospreys and join our team!

The theme for yesterday's dolphin survey was chaos. We started at the Main St. Bridge in downtown Jax and by the end of the day we hadn't made it past Reddie Point yet; that's about a quarter of our normal survey route. There were so many dolphins in the area and most of them were either foraging or socializing. There was one large group where the moms were all spread out foraging and their newborns were playing together in the middle of it all; we had to wait for the moms to come back and retrieve their tiny calves, so we knew who they belonged to. Our list of moms with 2026 newborns continues to grow and now includes Hera, Elsa, Stuart, Pele, Aurora, Guava, Athena, Anvil, Suzy Q, Bubbles, Sydney, Kylan, Amelia, Dixie Leah, Lilikoi, Pandora, Ebony, Eleanor, Cherokee, Hippolyta, Baloo, and Jenny. Here's hoping they all make it!

After documenting a mom and calf group in Mayport, the winds picked up and created choppy conditions in the river. So we made a detour and decided to run our annual survey of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) yesterday. As our students saw firsthand, there are far fewer dolphins in the ICW than the SJR. However, we know from prior collaborative projects that our dolphins occasionally use the ICW as a passageway to reach other estuaries to the south. We didn't recognize any of the dolphins sighted in the ICW yesterday, which is interesting since many had really distinct fins. A few even had some interesting marks and scars (pics below). We'd love to know if our collaborators to the south recognize them! We'll be back on the river early next week.

We started yesterday's dolphin survey downtown, but the most interesting sightings were near the end of the day in Mayport. Several large groups were following the incoming tide upriver. In one of those groups juvenile dolphins were surfacing with seaweed (sargassum) on their dorsal fins; we didn't see any adults doing this, so we think it might have been intentional. We also found a group with four newborns (YOYs) and a few larger calves and juveniles. The new moms were Bubbles, Sydney, Kylan, and one we haven't identified yet. Notably, Bubbles and her newborn were in the same group as Bubbles' mom and her current calf; so three generations of this family were traveling together.

For the second week in a row we've found Athena and her kids in a tight knit group. The newborn (YOY) was consistently surfacing in between Athena and her prior (recently weaned) calf. This suggests that the older sibling is female. Although sons usually separate from mom and her social network when they wean, the opposite is true for daughters. They tend to continue associating with mom after weaning and integrate into her social network. By spending time with mom and their younger siblings, daughters can observe and practice parenting skills that will help them when they eventually have calves of their own. Athena is a supermom and a wonderful role model for her daughters.

Tuesday was the first day on the river for Team B of our Dolphin Behavioral Ecology field course. We started our survey in downtown Jax and there was a lot of dolphin activity in the area including another newborn calf! Sadly, one of these sightings included an entangled dolphin. It has very thick rope, possibly from a crab trap float line, wrapped around the base of its tail and cutting through its flukes. NE Florida has the highest dolphin entanglement rate in the state. We're working to provide a detailed sighting history for this dolphin so our partners at NOAA and FWC can attempt an intervention.

If you're out boating and happen to see this dolphin, please call FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or from your cell phone. Please do not attempt to disentangle it yourself; we are very fortunate to have a highly trained marine mammal response team in our area.

Yesterday was the first day on the river for Team A of our Dolphin Behavioral Ecology summer field course. They must be good luck because we had our first newborn sighting before we even left the dock. By the end of the day we added 5 more newborns to our list of summer 2026 calves. Congrats to the moms - Elsa, Hera, Athena (our super mom), Pandora, and Lilikoi. We also saw a lot of socializing behavior, mostly among calves and juvies, and a mating herd of 6-8 manatees! Not bad for a first day of class!