Midway Spinner Dolphin Research

Midway Atoll, National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii. Since 1995 our research has focused on a group of resident Hawaiian spinner dolphins, to determine their reproductive rate, activity patterns, use of habitat, and social behavior. Spinner dolphins experience a variety of threats depending on where they occur - from slaughter by the thousand in the eastern Pacific tuna fishery to disturbance by a growing number of well-meaning tourists approaching them in their resting habitat in the Hawaiian Islands.

As a wildlife refuge, Midway provides the unique opportunity to study natural dolphin behavior and activity with a minimum of human disturbance. This is one of the largest stable groups of dolphins ever studied with over 300 individuals resting during the day in the shallow waters of the atoll throughout the year.