The juvenile life stage is a vulnerable and formative time for developing mammals. While bottlenose dolphins are among the best studied cetaceans, virtually no work has focused on understanding behavioral development between weaning and sexual maturity or determining the selection pressures acting on the juvenile life stage. This study aims to fill in part of this missing piece by examining the benefits of grouping behavior for juvenile dolphins. Specifically, this project combines long term sighting data and focal animal observations on individually-identifiable bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida to test how predator protection, foraging efficiency, and socialization influence juvenile dolphin grouping patterns.