From wiki(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin )Dolphins are marine mammals closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) (Maui's dolphin), up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons) (the orca or killer whale). They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, eating mostly fish and squid. The familyDelphinidae is the largest in the Cetacean order, and evolved relatively recently, about ten million years ago, during the Miocene. Dolphins are among the most intelligent animals, and their often friendly appearance, an artifact of the "smile" of their mouthline, and seemingly playful attitude have made them very popular in human culture.

Dolphin research hot included Etymology;Taxonomy; Evolution and anatomy;Behavior; Threats and the Relationship with human. The genomics tools can also be very useful for the dolphins' research inculded evolution and behaviors. Here are some research papers about dolphins.

Dolphin genome

McGowen, M. R., L. I. Grossman, et al. (2012). "Dolphin genome provides evidence for adaptive evolution of nervous system genes and a molecular rate slowdown." Proc Biol Sci 279(1743): 3643-3651.

Dolphin aquatic adaptation

Sun, Y. B., W. P. Zhou, et al. (2013). "Genome-wide scans for candidate genes involved in the aquatic adaptation of dolphins." Genome Biol Evol 5(1): 130-139.

Jefferson TA., Hung SK., et al.(2012). Life history of the Indo Pacific humpback dolphin in the Pearl River Estuary, southern China. Marine Mammal Science.28(1):84-104.

LeDuc RG, Perrin WF, Dizon AE (1999) Phylogenetic relationships among the delphinid cetaceans based on full cytocrome b sequences. Mar Mamm Sci 15: 619-648.

Herzing D, Moewe, K., & Brunnick, B. (2003) Interspecies interactions between Atlantic spotted dolphins, Stenella frontalis and bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, on Great Bahama Bank, Bahamas. Aquatic Mammals 29: 335-341.

Price SA, Bininda-Emonds OR, Gittleman JL (2005) A complete phylogeny of the whales, dolphins and even-toed hoofed mammals (Cetartiodactyla). Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 80: 445-473.

Xiong, Y., M. C. Brandley, et al. (2009). "Seven new dolphin mitochondrial genomes and a time-calibrated phylogeny of whales." BMC Evol Biol 9: 20.

Bilgmann, K., L. M. Moller, et al. (2011). "The use of carcasses for the analysis of cetacean population genetic structure: a comparative study in two dolphin species." PLoS One 6(5): e20103.

Vollmer N, Rosel P (2012) Developing genomic resources for the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): isolation and characterization of 153 single nucleotide polymorphisms and 53 genotyping assays. Molecular Ecology Resources 12 (6):1124-1132.