The Bow Rider
The Quarterly Newsletter of the Galveston Bay Dolphin Research Program
January – March 2026
Galveston Bay Foundation is pleased to share The Bow Rider, the Galveston Bay Dolphin Research Program‘s (GDRP) quarterly newsletter. Thank you for your interest in our research!
The Bow Rider includes diverse information about our dolphin population. Please be aware that this report includes photos of dolphins with skin lesions.
A Splashy Overview
Over the course of four surveys in the first quarter of 2026, the team braved the cold weather and observed 230 dolphins in 32 sightings (equaling 296km and 28 hours of observation effort). Most sightings occurred in Lower Galveston Bay, where we expect to find more dolphins during the cooler months of the year.
January through March 2026.
Have you seen dolphins in Galveston Bay or surrounding waters?
Please tell us about it by filling out our sighting form. This is an easy and effective way to notify the GDRP about when and where you have seen dolphins. Always follow dolphin safe viewing guidelines.
We sighted the first neonate (newborn dolphin) of the year during a boat survey at the end of March with Texas A&M University at Galveston! The sighting was near the entrance to Galveston Bay at Bolivar Roads. Neonates are distinguishable from older dolphin calves by their dark color, very small size, flexible/floppy bodies, and vertical fetal folds.
News & Updates
On January 21st, we celebrated GDRP volunteers at Galveston Bay Foundation’s annual volunteer appreciation event, Bravos for the Bay. It was a fun evening celebrating our citizen scientists, who are an integral part of our team! In 2025, GDRP volunteers contributed an impressive 1,361 hours to dolphin research and outreach efforts. THANK YOU!
This year, we recognized three outstanding GDRP volunteers with awards. Phil Adkinson received the Field Assistant Excellence in Service Award; Amanda Lopas received the Seawolf Station Excellence in Service Award; and Lauryn Fly received the GDRP Distinguished Service Award. THANK YOU!
We are proud to announce our (long-awaited!) new publication, “The dolphin FRESH protocol: Visual Freshwater-Related Evaluation of Skin Health in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.)“. You may be familiar with this project from updates over the past few years, as we worked to establish standards for the visual evaluation of skin lesions associated with freshwater exposure in Galveston Bay dolphins.
Our efforts, combined with those of colleagues addressing the same questions, led to this highly collaborative and multidisciplinary effort that provides a template for programs investigating freshwater exposure in estuaries around the world. This journey has reminded us that sometimes you learn just as much from the process of trying to answer a question as you do from the final results!
Volunteer with us!
We are currently recruiting volunteer citizen scientists for our land-based Dolphin Research and Outreach Station at Seawolf Park in Galveston! The Seawolf Station consists of 3-4 volunteers who collect dolphin sighting data from land and take photographs of dolphins, while engaging with park visitors/fishers to educate them on how marine debris can affect dolphins.
If you are invited to become a volunteer, you must participate in a required 2-day training workshop on Saturday, June 27th, AND Sunday, June 28th.
Applications are due Friday, May 15th.
If you are interested in applying, we highly encourage you to attend our virtual open house on April 29th from 6-7 pm CDT to learn more about our program and what this volunteer opportunity entails. You must RSVP for this event to attend.
In February, GDRP staff and partners gathered at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s State of the Bay Symposium in Galveston to share research focused on better understanding Galveston Bay’s dolphins. GDRP staff and partners gave five presentations about Galveston Bay dolphins.
GDRP’s co-PI Kristi Fazioli presented updates on Galveston Bay dolphin residency and threats and a poster about a flukeless dolphin our team sighted in 2022. GDRP’s co-PI Vanessa Mintzer presented an overview and progress made on our five-year NOAA RESTORE Science Program project to assess multiple stressors in Galveston Bay dolphins. GDRP/Galveston Bay Foundation Research Associate Alyssa Quackenbush presented what we have learned about dolphin-fisher interactions at our land-based dolphin station at Seawolf Park. GDRP Project Affiliate and University of South Carolina PhD Student Lola Renauer presented preliminary results applying our newly published Dolphin FRESH Protocol to the Galveston Bay dolphin population.
The RESTORE Science Program Dolphin Multiple Stressors project team convened in Galveston following the State of the Bay Symposium. Representatives from the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF), the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network (TMMSN), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) joined GDRP’s Principal Investigators at Moody Gardens for a full-day session to review progress, evaluate ongoing efforts, and plan the next steps for the five-year project. The day concluded with a behind-the-scenes tour of the TMMSN, led by Executive Director Heidi Whitehead.
On a foggy February morning, we hosted a Coffee & Conversations event at Seawolf Park, where guests learned more about our program, Galveston Bay dolphins, and witnessed our volunteer citizen scientists in action at our land-based station.
At the end of February, we said goodbye to Makayla Neese, our Research Assistant since May of 2025. Makayla predominantly helped us with field work on the boat and at our land-based station throughout the summer. She transitioned to working part-time in the fall and helped us catch up on photo-ID tasks. We were sad to say goodbye, but wish her the best of luck in her next adventure!
Adoptee Highlights
Don’t miss out! Adopt or name a dolphin to join our Dolphin Society and receive exclusive updates about individual dolphins. Your support goes directly to the Galveston Bay Dolphin Research Program.
Gift a Galveston Bay dolphin for Mother’s Day!
This Mother’s Day, give your mom a unique and meaningful gift by adopting or naming a dolphin! Calypso (#203) recently had her third calf and was seen this quarter! She is available for adoption this Mother’s Day, along with Sandy (#4), Dumbledolph (#28), and Gregory (#771). Dolphin mom #277 is available for naming. Adoption kits are delivered electronically and include photographs of your adopted dolphin, a sighting map, and a one-year membership in our Dolphin Society. The deadline to adopt or name a dolphin for Mother’s Day is Thursday, May 7th, at 7 pm CDT.
What YOU want to know…
“How long do dolphin calves stay with their mother?”
Dolphin moms usually only have one calf at a time every 2-6 years, but this varies by individual mother (Wells et al., 2025). As long-lived mammals, dolphin moms dedicate a lot of energy into the survival of their calf. Bottlenose dolphins have a gestation period of 12 months, and a newborn dolphin (“neonate”) is completely dependent upon its mother and will not leave her side. As the calf grows, it may leave its mother to visit with other young dolphins for short periods of time and be “babysat” by other female dolphins.
Calves nurse until they are about two years old, and they typically leave their mother when they are 2-4 years old (Wells et al., 2025). A calf may gradually become more independent until it fully separates from its mom. During this stage, the calf may be seen both with and without its mother. Alternatively, a calf may abruptly separate from its mom. After separation occurs, we often see these newly independent juveniles in groups of young dolphins, like roving bands of teenagers! Occasionally, we see juvenile dolphins “visiting” with their mom, who by then, may have a new calf.
If you have a question regarding GDRP, Galveston Bay dolphins, or dolphin biology, please submit your question using the button below.
Thank You to Our Collaborators!
Thank you to all of our individual supporters, sponsors, and partners, who make this work possible! We are grateful for your continued support.
All activities are conducted under a NMFS Scientific Research Permit.
Galveston Bay Foundation
1725 Highway 146
Kemah, TX 77565
(281) 332-3381
