In the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro inhabits a resident population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). This population is daily exposed to high levels of dolphin-watching tourism, which could potentially increase the probability of abandoning the area. Most dolphin-watching activities concentrate in an area known as Dolphin Bay. This is also the area where there seems to be a higher concentration of mother-calves pairs per group, highlighting the importance of the bay as a nursing ground. In the year 2011, five calves were found dead due to collisions with motor boats. For this reason, and the observations made in the field, we hypothesize that boaters are not following the recommended guidelines for approaching dolphin groups with calves and we want to investigate how nursing dolphins are reacting to different types of boat approaches. In addition, we believe it is important to work together with the local community to create awareness of dolphins’ and marine ecosystems conservation. To accomplish this we will be creating a series of talks and forums with the communities of Bocas del Toro to inform them about the project and about sustainable dolphin-watching practices.

Another important component of our research is studying the genetic structure of this dolphin population. The lack of genetic studies can be an impediment to determine adequate management planning at the local level. It is necessary to determinate which “ecotypes” are found in the Caribbean to define reasonable management units for this area. The coastal bottlenose dolphin from Bocas del Toro Archipelago exemplifies this situation, where factors such as high site-fidelity (probably leading to low gene flow with neighboring populations) can make this population vulnerable to human activities as boat traffic. Recently, molecular studies have shown two forms (not ecotypes) to describe bottlenose dolphin populations: the “inshore ecotype” and the “worldwide distributed form”. So, although the "inshore ecotype” (coastal populations) shows site fidelity, interactions between these individuals and transients (who do not show a pattern of site residence) may produce a genetic exchange that may lead to confusion when determining conservation units for T. truncatus. The goal of this study is to combine the study of the genetic structure of the population of Bocas del Toro together with the effects of dolphin-watching to determinate units for management and suggest conservation strategies.