CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After time was spent grant-writing and 'building their case', researchers at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi were approved with a federal grant to move forward in their study with female bottlenose dolphins.
A marine biology team received nearly $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to further the research of the dolphins and their impact on reproduction.
"We're trying to redefine this conversation about how important are females in controlling paternity and giving more credit to this gender imbalance that has been prevalent," said Dara Orbach, an assistant professor at TAMUCC.
Orbach and her team address gender misconceptions in science and will begin developing innovative techniques into animal reproduction through this project. The research is set to be conducted through 2025.
"We can take this technique and we can apply it to multiple different species in managed care," said Jackie Rich, a research assistant and student in Orbach's lab. "(We) may eventually be able to facilitate those types of programs to improve the populations as well as preserve the genetic diversity of the species."
Rich said they have had to address a few different challenges, as expected with any research project.
"It's really made this project very multifaceted. It's both looking at very applied questions in terms of the artificial reproductive tracts, but also very basic questions about dolphins that will also contribute to the current ongoing research," said Rich.
Being located along the Gulf of Mexico coast, the researchers said the conservation and research into dolphins is a high interest not only amongst their team, but from those all around.
"They're a source of eco-tourism. People come to the area to see the dolphins as well and the more research we're able to do here and understand how we can help preserve them, I think benefits us, the entire city economically and also in terms of being stewards for our environment and having animals here for future generations to enjoy," said Orbach.
Orbach added credit to others who are and will be a part of the research moving forward, from researchers in Florida to a couple in Massachusetts. She also said this project would not be possible without the help and contributions from the Texas State Aquarium.
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