NOAA Awards More Than $600,000 To The Chicago Zoological Society To Support Dolphin Research

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted $662,978 to the Chicago Zoological Society to finance their Center for Dolphin Biology, Health and Conservation Education. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will finance part of the center’s program to study the population structure and dynamics, and conduct stock identification of bottlenose dolphins in Florida’s Sarasota Bay area. The project will also assess the health of these dolphins and their exposure to environmental contaminants and examine the feeding ecology of these animals while seeking to understand and evaluate the role of human activities on these dolphins.

“This grant funds research that is critical for the overall conservation of dolphins and other marine mammals,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA and the Bush Administration are working to improve the understanding of our environment and to strengthen initiatives like those of the Chicago Zoological Society.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.