The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies serves as a liaison between public and private entities interested in marine mammal science. IMMS has provided funding and facilities to graduate students in order to conduct their research. IMMS has also developed and supervised a marine mammal veterinary preceptorship program for final year veterinary students. Research at IMMS covers a broad range of scientific disciplines including population dynamics, underwater acoustics, health, genetics, microbiology, endocrinology, behavior, biomagnetism and ecology. The Institute has conducted studies in cooperation with scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Oklahoma State University, Portland State University, University of Miami, University of California, Berkeley, National Marine Fisheries Service, Naval Ocean Systems Center, Naval Research Laboratory, Jackson State University and Louisiana State University. Together with its scientific collaborators, IMMS hopes to make a significant impact on the health and well-being of dolphins in the Mississippi Sound and adjacent waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
IMMS is proud to announce that our Ocean Adventures Marine Park is the only facility of its kind in the Mississippi-Louisiana-Alabama sub-region, providing on-site educational programs for the public and students along the Gulf Coast, inviting research and advancement opportunities to institutions of higher learning, and filling a void in dolphin rescue and rehabilitation along the Gulf Coast. The facility houses an educational museum, a 500 seat arena, classrooms, a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital, and additional facilities necessary to provide exemplary care for dolphins in every stage of rehabilitation.
