My Tuesday morning data collection session was cut short because Ronnie decided it’d be fun to be pushy and swim circles around me. So, rather than reward such rambunctious actions, I removed myself and waited for a second session later in the morning! During the first entry and the second, I did check on the SM2M. It was right where we left it (hurray!) and while in the water I confirmed that the red LED light on the hydrophone tip went on when the recording was supposed to be happening. Phew!

The second session was preceded by Nicole and me being asked by Dante to act as guests for a training session with Champ – a 1.5 yr old dolphin. Dante needed to have a few people near him while he worked with Champ so Champ could get used to us. He was a champ (I could not resist!) and seemed quite at ease with Nicole and me near Dante.

The observation session went smoothly – no rough-housing toward me. A few juveniles thought it would be fun to swim tight circles around me a couple of times (causing me to get dizzy!) but they also played with each other. The youngsters include Calli, Tilly, Polly, Elli, Champ, Lenca and Mac. Nicole and I think we have finally committed their few scratches and scars to memory such that we can regularly recognize each of the individuals. They were quite vocal during the session – whistles, buzzes and clicks were recorded along with some twisty turns and fast swims. All in all, an hour of data was collected with the MVA2. John mounted a GoPro to the top the MVA2 so each entry has two video logs. The GoPro provides a wider frame of view but both allow documentation of the behavioral interactions among the dolphins. 

Tomorrow is another day that will begin with me in the water at 6:45 AM!

Cheers

Kathleen & the DCP RIMS 2013 team

This morning brought another early session. I collected about 30 minutes of data before 7:30 AM when our team was preparing to head out for an early morning dive. Hector and Han decided my fins were the best thing since sliced bread and nibbled on them. It’s a bit disconcerting to have to stop and elevate my feet into the air to get the dolphins to ignore me.

The afternoon brought a chance to deploy the Song Meter SM2M Marine, from Wildlife Acoustics (see photo). John, Nicole and Nate helped me with the deployment. John filmed from below while Nate and Nicole handed me the SM2M with the 24 pounds of weight for placement.

The SM2M will let us record dolphin sounds over each 24 hr period from today to Friday. We attached the passive acoustic recorder to a piling in the dolphin pool and watched as several of the younger animals and their moms swam by to check out the yellow tube! I think they were more interested in John’s bubbles from SCUBA, but a least one individual supervised my tightening of one strap to secure the recorder to the piling! We got quite a bit of data today and both Nicole and I (at least) are getting to know the scratches and other ID marks on the younger dolphins, as well as remembering the marks on the older individuals.

Tomorrow brings more data collection!

Cheers

Kathleen

The sun rose at ~5:30 AM. I was excited to head over to see the dolphins but had to make sure the camera focus was set and the O-rings properly lubed. We met at the water taxi at 6:45 and I was in the water by 7 AM. Several dolphins hung close to the platform as I donned by fins and mask and turned the camera on. I slipped into the water into the center of a dolphin tribunal! I made sure there were no leaks into the housing and when I looked up, I was face-to-face with Paya! Apparently, I have no personal space where Paya or the younger dolphins are concerned. After a minute or two, the dolphins all were off to their own interactions. At about 10 minutes into the session, Hector and Han decided my fins were the best thing ever! They mouthed them and pulled at them and were just right at my feet continually, it seemed. Gracie brought Tilly over to meet me and Mika had Polly and Mac and swam by me a few times. The “new” young animals range in age from 3 months to about 1.5 yrs old. They were quite inquisitive and swam circles around me and at me, though we had no games of “chicken” today. I did see much pec fin rubbing and nudging one another.

I recorded almost 30 minutes before 7:30 AM and then went back at 9:30 for a second session. Hector, Han, Paya and Ronnie were engaged in other activities outside of the main pool area. So, I had the second session with only 15 dolphins – mostly the adult females and their offspring. It was a blast! The youngsters were quite inquisitive and swam very close to the camera – putting their face next to the front plate, buzzing me and checking everything out. I saw all of the adult females a few times: Cedeña has a new notch in her dorsal fin, but all her other marks are the same. There were numerous whistles and clicks and buzzes.

Before coming to RIMS, John and I updated the MVA2 with a different set of hydrophones and repositioned a camera into the housing. The latter required a new control knob. Everything worked great! And, the audio sounds awesome!

We’ll have more data collection sessions tomorrow and will also deploy the SM2M passive acoustic recorder tomorrow (made by www.wildlifeacoustics.com). We’ll leave the SM2M deployed for 4-5 days and record audio day and night to see if there is a pattern to the dolphin vocal behavior.

More tomorrow!

Cheers

Kathleen & the DCP RIMS 2013 team

It felt like Nicole, Nate and I opened JFK airport having arrived at 03:45 to check in for our flight through Atlanta to Roatan. The time sped by, however, and we landed on Roatan at 11:15 AM (we’re on mountain time on Roatan) to weather warmth that has departed New England for the season. It turns out that Ron, Madison, Bill and Dana were on our flight also … the only late arrivals of our group were John and Bill S.  We are all settled on the NW corner of Anthony’s Key with a peripheral view of Bailey’s Key, and the dolphins, and a regular ocean concert of crashing waves.

Getting to Anthony’s Key Resort felt like coming home, especially since I’d not been able to visit last year for data collection. And, we were greeted with the news that there are 7 new dolphins to the group – new since my last visit 2.5 years ago (WOW!). Residing around Bailey’s Key are Hector, Han, Paya, Ronnie, Alita, Beasley, Carmella, Cedeña, Gracie, Maury, Mika, Bailey, Polly, Elli, Calli, Tilly (Yes, now we have a Tilly at RIMS and around Bimini!), Lenca, Champ and Mac. Later in the week I’ll identify who’s related to whom for the dolphins. We learned that French, Ritchie, Anthony and Bill are at a facility on the other side of Roatan. We spent an hour or so at Bailey’s Key watching the dolphins frolic at the surface, chasing one another and playing keep away with sea grass blades.  

I spoke with Eldon and will begin data collection early tomorrow morning – I plan two separate half-hour sessions to get the dolphins reacquainted with my gear (and me). Until tomorrow …

Cheers

Kathleen & the DCP RIMS 2013 team

The sprawl of gear and personal stuff is now orderly and neatly packed into three checked bags. The SM2M is safely inside a nice secure case on wheels. The MVA2 is in the orange “giant” case that either John or I use regularly and is fully padded for transit from CT to Roatan (I hope!). And, my fins, wetsuit, mask, snorkel and assorted clothing are all tucked into a small soft bag. Yes! I am more than ready to go, especially so since we had our first frost of the season last night. I woke to just above freezing temps! Burr!!!

I’ll share a bit about DCP’s history of study on the RIMS dolphins tomorrow, before beginning official travel south. And, then the fun begins with arrival to Roatan on Saturday late morning (cross your fingers for uneventful flights!).

Cheers

Kathleen

Only four days remain before I begin the trek to JFK and then to Roatan. I seem to have a knack for identifying flights that leave before the sun rises! I’ve reviewed the data sheets and made copies for the field work. We have surface logs for notating animals within various distances of the MVA from the surface viewpoint. We have blank sketch sheets for drawing the marks of the dolphins. We need to update our sketches annually to match with our video logs. This helps confirming the different IDs on the screen when we are back in the office reviewing and processing the video data. There are 20 plus dolphins to remember … easier than our wild groups, but still subtle with respect to marks.

My gear is lain out and being reviewed prior to being packed. I have the MVA2, the camera, the SM2M, my mask, fins, snorkel, wet suit, batteries, tapes, personal gear …

Let’s see if I can get everything into two checked bags and 1-2 carry-ons!

Cheers

Kathleen

Any free time last week and this week are dedicated to preparing for the last week of October to RIMS. My week at RIMS comes after a two-year hiatus! I am very much looking forward to visiting RIMS and seeing the dolphins again. To see how much the calves have grown and see who’s hanging out with whom.

Last week was filled with re-formatting the MVA2 for a tape-camera that John and I found on eBay. I was having issues with a tape-less camera. We found an HDR camera and it just barely fit into MVA2. John spent a bit of time and set a new control into the back plate that will turn the camera on and off and connect with the record/standby button. So, we are set with camera control. The hydrophones needed to be replaced as the older pair (15 years old) had grounding problems that added quite a bit of noise to the recordings. We had a past-pair that work well, even though they require power. And, John found a neat option for the hydrophone arms – “locline” links. These replace the aluminum set arms that I love but are extremely difficult to travel with … if the locline arms work, then they will shift from a temporary fix to a permanent fix for the hydrophone displacement. I.e., to keep the hydrophone boxes at their minimum scaled distance apart (4.5 times the distance between my ears!).

I include a few photos so you can see some of these upgrades to MVA2.

This week includes review of the data sheets to make sure I have enough copies. I’ll also print out some of the papers we’ve had published since my last trip. And, the gear is being laid out in my library so I can make sure I do not forget anything. I’m shooting for two checked bags … I’ll let you know on Thursday if I meet my goal!

Thank you to our Fund-A-Geek sponsors for helping to make this trip possible!

Cheers

Kathleen

Join Sacred Heart University (SHU) in Bimini, The Bahamas for a 12-night field course in cetacean ecology!

This course was a huge success last year and we look forward to another success in 2014. The course begins with an online component, with Professor Deirdre Yeater, on 19 May 2014. By 27 May all students will arrive in Bimini, for classroom time and fieldwork! With 8 boat trips in search of Bimini’s wild dolphins, students will experience many facets of wild dolphin research.

All participants must take this course for credit through SHU, however visiting students are encouraged to apply. For more information click here, then contact us for more details!

We're proud to announce the latest overflowing issue of our quarterly newsletter, The Dolphin Gazette. In this issue, Kathleen shares updates from her recent trip to Europe and we continue our push to achieve our FundAGeek goal. Justin is busy preparing for the second installment in his collaborative Apes and Dolphins Seminar Series. For those of you interested in our Bimini, Bahamas field site, we hope you enjoy updates not only from Kel, but also from our summer interns. All that isn't enough for you? Fear not - there are even more updates, and a fun crossword puzzle, inside! Thanks for reading and passing this issue along to your friends!

Click here for a PDF of The Dolphin Gazette Issue 17.3

Friday was a busy day. Nicole & Salma began their final day on Bimini with the sunrise, and continued to make the most of their final hours on-island by exploring and picking up last minute treats (can you say Mr. Charlie’s Bimini bread and guava jam?!). Sadly, all too soon, the water taxi was calling them, figuratively speaking, and they headed to South Bimini for their flights back to the US. I remember how it felt each summer when I was an intern, and then a Master’s student, getting on that water taxi for the final time, wondering, “Is this really the final time?” My own internship experience fundamentally changed the course of my life. I cannot expect that for every intern, but I certainly hope that both Nicole & Salma had at least a small fraction of the positive internship experience I had. Or should I say that I hope their experience was as great for them as their help to DCP was! It was a pleasure to have you both!

For me, it was quick dockside goodbyes as a dolphin trip was calling my name. Armed with the DCP clipboard once again, the day’s trip was unlike Thursday’s. We searched. And searched. And searched some more. When folks got antsy, everyone jumped in the water to cool off. When folks got dizzy from staring at the ocean, it was snack time. Then, finally, on the last leg of our dolphin search, there they were. Two, three, four Atlantic spotted dolphins. Romeo (#10) and Tilly (#87) made themselves very obvious as did two adults, although I did not readily recognize them. We did not know what to expect from the underwater encounter, but with fading sunlight, it was now or never. The encounter turned out to be very interesting. The two adults did not readily interact with Romeo & Tilly, but Romeo & Tilly were extremely interactive with each other (like in this photo!). There was a fair bit of whistling and both dolphins played with sargassum, occasionally interrupting their object play to investigate the humans quite closely. At least one of the adults (male) did come by DCP’s camera, so hopefully we will be able to ID this guy when we review the video…I wonder who he is…

We arrived back at the dock as the sun was setting and everyone from this week was using words like “lucky” and “grateful.” It really was a fantastic week.

Just one day off the boat before the final two boat trips of the main summer field season. Fingers crossed the weather (and dolphins) cooperate!

Until next time,

Kel