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# Shark Bay Dolphin Research

Monkey Mia - Useless Loop | Western Australia

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [News](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/news/) - No posts were found.
- [Success on Dirk Hartog Island (Wirruwana)](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/news/success-on-dirk-hartog-island-wirruwana/) - It did not take long for the Team on Dirk Hartog Island to fall in love with the place, on land as well as on the water! Amazing views, stunning water clarity, and breathtakingly diverse marine wildlife make this island another unique gem of Shark Bay (Gutharraguda). Having recorded many behavioural surveys and having added
- [Follow Our Latest 2024 Field Season Updates!](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/news/follow-our-latest-2024-field-season-updates/) - Tune in on our twitter account to get the latest news, pictures and footage of our 2024 Shark Bay Dolphin research field season. Lots of exciting things are happening this year!
- [Dolphin Courtship: Brutal, Cunning and Complex](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphin-courtship-brutal-cunning-and-complex/) - The New York Times, 1992 Researchers who have spent thousands of hours observing the behavior of bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Australia have discovered that the males form social alliances with one another that are far more sophisticated and devious than any seen in animals apart from human beings. They have found that one
- [Dolphin innovators hunt fish by collecting conch shells](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphin-innovators-hunt-fish-by-collecting-conch-shells/) - BBC Earth News, September 2010 "Shark Bay dolphins are known as clever inventors, showing a remarkable range of foraging tactics, which are unprecedented in other cetacean populations," says biologist Dr Michael Krützen of the University of Zurich, Switzerland. https://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8975000/8975919.stm https://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8975000/8975919.stm
- [Meet William the Concherer, the dolphin that can fish](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/meet-william-the-concherer-the-dolphin-that-can-fish/) - New Scientist, September 2010 For many years researchers in Western Australia’s Shark Bay have noticed Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins hefting and shaking heavy conch shells out of the water for several minutes. What were they up to? https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19421-meet-william-the-concherer-the-dolphin-that-can-fish/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19421-meet-william-the-concherer-the-dolphin-that-can-fish/
- [Dolphin Fish-Eating Trick Catches On](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphin-fish-eating-trick-catches-on/) - Discovery News, August 2011 Humans may have invented the spork, often seen at fast food joints, but a very clever group of bottlenose dolphins in Australia has created its own new combo tool that both captures fish and functions as a food bowl. https://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphins-fish-trick-110831.htm https://news.discovery.com/animals/dolphins-fish-trick-110831.htm Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20110926161915/http://news.discovery.com:80/animals/dolphins-fish-trick-110831.html
- [A Clever New Fishing Method, ‘Conching,’ is the Latest Trend Spreading Among Australia’s Hippest Bottlenose Dolphins](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/a-clever-new-fishing-method-conching-is-the-latest-trend-spreading-among-australias-hippest-bottlenose-dolphins/) - Popular Science, August 2011 The first isolated instances of conching were recorded in 2007 and 2009 among a small group of Shark Bay’s dolphins. But other dolphins seem to be observing that behavior and learning the method for themselves–in the last four months alone, researchers have documented the behavior six or seven times–marking a very
- [Clever Dolphins Use Shells to Catch Fish](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/clever-dolphins-use-shells-to-catch-fish/) - Wired, August 2011 Already famed as Earth's first tool-using marine mammals, the bottlenose dolphins of Australia's Shark Bay have proved handy yet again, by using conch shells to trap tasty fish, then shaking them into their mouths like sardines from a tin. https://www.wired.com/2011/08/dolphin-fishing/ https://www.wired.com/2011/08/dolphin-fishing/
- [Ingenious fishing method may be spreading through dolphins](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/ingenious-fishing-method-may-be-spreading-through-dolphins/) - Phys.org, August 2011 “If – and that is a big if – we are witnessing the horizontal spread of this behaviour, then I would assume that it spreads by an associate of a ‘conching’ dolphin closely observing the behaviour and then imitating it,” Mr. Allen said. https://phys.org/news/2011-08-ingenious-fishing-method-dolphins.html https://phys.org/news/2011-08-ingenious-fishing-method-dolphins.html
- [Bottlenose dolphins: ‘Gangs’ run society, scientists say](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/bottlenose-dolphins-gangs-run-society-scientists-say/) - BBC Nature, March 2012 (Photo: Whitney Friedman, SBDRA) Male bottlenose dolphins organise gang-like alliances - guarding females against other groups and occasionally "changing sides". A team studying dolphins in Shark Bay, western Australia, say the animals roam hundreds of square kilometres, often encountering other dolphin groups. https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17522450 https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17522450 Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20140201103139/https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17522450
- [Meet the Dolphin Mafia](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/meet-the-dolphin-mafia/) - Science News, March 2012 (Photo: Simon Allen, SBDRA) The male dolphins of Shark Bay, Australia, are known to marine biologists for their messy social entanglements. Their relationships with each other are so unusual—they're more like the intricate webs of the Mafia than the vertical hierarchies of chimpanzees https://news.sciencemag.org/2012/03/meet-dolphin-mafia https://news.sciencemag.org/2012/03/meet-dolphin-mafia
- [Unique Australian Dolphins Learn From Their Mothers To Use Tools](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/unique-australian-dolphins-learn-from-their-mothers-to-use-tools/) - Business Insider Australia, March 2014 Some of the dolphins in Shark Bay in Western Australia put conical marine sponges on their beaks when they forage on the sea floor, a non-genetic skill calves apparently learn from their mothers. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/these-unique-australian-dolphins-learn-from-their-mothers-to-use-tools-2014-3 https://www.businessinsider.com.au/these-unique-australian-dolphins-learn-from-their-mothers-to-use-tools-2014-3 Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20140322014826/http://www.businessinsider.com.au/these-unique-australian-dolphins-learn-from-their-mothers-to-use-tools-2014-3
- [Dolphin watch: How social behavior affects genetic makeup](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphin-watch-how-social-behavior-affects-genetic-makeup/) - Digital Journal, March 2014 (Photo: NASA) Scientists studying bottlenose dolphins that use sponges as tools to protect their sensitive beaks has shown that social behavior can shape the genetic makeup of an animal population in the wild. https://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/dolphin-watch-how-social-behavior-affects-genetic-makeup/article/378095 https://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/dolphin-watch-how-social-behavior-affects-genetic-makeup/article/378095 Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20210417204755/http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/dolphin-watch-how-social-behavior-affects-genetic-makeup/article/378095
- [Dolphins Use Sponges As Tools To Snag Snacks, Scientists Say](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphins-use-sponges-as-tools-to-snag-snacks-scientists-say/) - Huffington Post, April 2014 Recently, scientists discovered Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay off the coast of Australia apparently use tools in the wild. Specifically, the most common foraging tactic dolphins practice in deep-water channels involves carrying sponges on their snouts https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dolphins-sponges-tools_n_5206207 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dolphins-sponges-tools_n_5206207
- [Dolphin food habits distinguish genetic line](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphin-food-habits-distinguish-genetic-line/) - Science Network Western Australia, May 2014 INDO-PACIFIC bottlenose dolphins that use sponges as hunting tools are eating different foods to those who do not and the unique behaviour could have shaped the genetic makeup of the population, according to two new studies at Shark Bay. https://www.sciencewa.net.au/topics/fisheries-a-water/item/2812-dolphin-food%20-habits-distinguish-genetic-line Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20140512091037/http://www.sciencewa.net.au:80/topics/fisheries-a-water/item/2812-dolphin-food-habits-distinguish-genetic-line
- [News of the Day: Dolphins Use Tools](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/news-of-the-day-dolphins-use-tools/) - Ocean Today, NOAA, June 2014 These bottlenose dolphins have been observed covering their beaks with basket sponges torn from the seafloor as they forage for food. This tool helps them uncover fish hiding in the sandy sea bottom, and protects their snouts from scrapes and stings. https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/newsoftheday_dolphinsusetools/ https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/newsoftheday_dolphinsusetools/
- [Dolphins Are So Smart They're Learning Tool-Use From Their Friends](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphins-are-so-smart-theyre-learning-tool-use-from-their-friends/) - Science Alert, June 2020 The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins of Shark Bay in Western Australia have an unusual way of obtaining food. They chivvy fish into a large, empty marine gastropod shell. Then they carry the shell and captured fish up to the surface, and shake it upside down. Slurp! go the fish, straight down into
- [Dolphins:the Wild Side](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/dolphinsthe-wild-side/) - National Geographic Television, 1997 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386415/
- [Smart dolphins hunt for fish](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/smart-dolphins-hunt-for-fish/) - Science Alert, August 2011 https://www.sciencealert.com/news/20111708-22507.html
- [The Private Lives of Dolphins](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/in-the-media/the-private-lives-of-dolphins/) - NOVA, 1992

## Pages

- [Shark Bay Dolphin Research](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/) - The famous dolphins of Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, Western Australia, have been studied by researchers from the Universities of Zurich and Bristol since the 1980s
- [Shark Bay Research Trail](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/trail/)
- [01 Dolphin research in Shark Bay](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/trail/board-01/) - Summary Shark Bay Dolphin Research is the second longest running dolphin research project in the world. Over 40 years of research have revealed the most complex animal society on the planet; resulted in hundreds of papers, books, chapters and TV documentaries; and even educated thousands of people about these remarkable dolphins and ecosystem. Follow the
- [People](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/people/) - People involved in Shark Bay Dolphin Research: Principal Investigators, Research associates, PhD candicates, MSc students, external collaborators and alumni
- [Alumni](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/people/alumni/) - Alumni of the Shark Bay Dolphin Research project, past members and contributors as well as former degrees of current members
- [Peer Reviewed Publications](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/publications/) - Complete listing of peer reviewed publications concerning Shark Bay dolphin research, ordered by year of publication, descending
- [Prof. Dr. Stephanie King](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/people/prof-dr-stephanie-king/) - Stephanie King is an Associate Professor in Animal Behaviour at the University of Bristol, UKand an Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia
- [Prof. Dr. Richard Connor](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/people/prof-dr-richard-connor/) - Richard Connor is a Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and co-founded the Shark Bay dolphin research project in 1982
- [Prof. Dr. Michael Krützen](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/people/prof-dr-michael-kruetzen/) - Michael Krützen is a professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Genomics at the University of Zurich. He is interested in the social evolution of primates and cetaceans
- [Impressum](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/impressum/) - Published by Institute of Evolutionary AnthropologyUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057 Zürich Contact IT@iea.uzh.ch Credits: Drone photography by Riccardo Cicciarella
- [Fieldwork](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/fieldwork/) - Shark Bay Dolphin Research is running two stations for their fieldwork: A fixed one at Monkey Mia in the East and a mobile outpost at Useless Loop in the West.
- [Dr. Simon Allen](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/people/dr-simon-allen/) - Simon Allen is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol, Research Associate at the University of Zurich, and Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia
- [In The Media](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/media/) - The famous Shark Bay dolphins covered in international media and press releases throughout the years, starting in the early 1990s.
- [Useless Loop Field Station](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/fieldwork/useless-loop-field-station/) - Photos of Useless Loop field station
- [Monkey Mia Field Station](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/fieldwork/monkey-mia-field-station/) - Photos of Monkey Mia field station
- [Funding and Sponsors](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/funding-sponsors/) - Since its inception in 1982, the dolphin research program in Shark Bay has been funded and supported by numerous organisations, gratefully acknowledged here: Sponsors Monkey Mia ResortShark Bay Salt Pty Ltd Perth Funding The National Geographic Society: Committee for Research & ExplorationSwiss National Science FoundationAustralian Research CouncilNational Science FoundationNational Institute of HealthSeaworld Research & Rescue

## Categories

- [In The Media](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/category/in-the-media/)
- [News](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/category/news/)

## Tags

- [field work](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/field-work/)
- [dolphin research](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/dolphin-research/)
- [2024 field seson](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/2024-field-seson/)
- [@ResearchDolphin](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/researchdolphin/)
- [Dirk Hartog Island](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/dirk-hartog-island/)
- [Wirruwana](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/wirruwana/)
- [fieldwork](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/fieldwork/)
- [Shark Bay](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/shark-bay/)
- [Gutharraguda](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/gutharraguda/)
- [research](https://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/tag/research/)