Tourism's effect on wild dolphins will be discussed at three forums around the state held by the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with research presented by Lars Bejder, a leading expert in the field of whales and dolphins.

Bejder, the founder and research leader of the Murdock University"s Cetacean Research Unit, has studied the effect of vessel-based tourism on populations of whales and dolphins. He will also discuss how his research shifted tourism in Australia toward a sustainable management.

His first forum will be at at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Architecture Building, Room 205. On Thursday, the lecture will move to Maui at 6:30 p.m. at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, 726 S. Kihei Road. And on Sept. 30, at 6:30 p.m. the lecture will move to the Big Island at the Kealakehe High School Library, 74-5000 Pu'ohulihuli St., Kailua-Kona.

For more information call Jayne LeFors at jayne.lefors@noaa.gov or call 944-2277.