Although most of our field reports from Bimini revolve around boat trips searching for and observing dolphins, Monday was packed with land activities. The day began with a visit by Kel to the Coral Reef II (Shedd Aquarium). Kel visited with the first round of High School Marine Biology program participants and despite the early hour, the students were full of fantastic questions and insights. It was a struggle to wrap up after 90 minutes – we probably could have talked about dolphins all day! A huge thanks goes to the students as well as their instructors and, as always, the great boat crew.

Meanwhile, two of DCP’s 2014 summer interns were on their way south. It was Alexis’ and Amy’s first day in Bimini. For Alexis it was her first day back since August 2011 and boy was she happy to return to this beautiful little island. This was Amy’s very first time to The Bahamas, let alone Bimini, so today was an exciting day full of new sights and sounds. For both, the day began very early (3:40 and 4:20 am) leaving PA and NJ, respectively. We both arrived safe and sound to Florida; unfortunately Amy’s luggage did not seem to make the journey. Nonetheless, we met up at the airport and boarded our puddle jumper plane to Bimini. We were greeted on the island by a quick, but fierce, rain storm that passed, and then Kel and Miles! Once we settled into our new digs we began assembling brand spanking new intern bikes, yippee! Kel then briefed us on all the exciting tasks we have for the next few weeks. We ended the day with a delicious leftover dinner with Kel and Miles, followed by a beautiful sunset in our backyard! Aside from misplaced luggage, it has been a great start and we are super excited for the next few days!

Over and out,
Kel, Alexis & Amy

On Wednesday, I was thrilled to be headed into the dolphin grounds after so many days off the boat. Bimini Adventures had a group of ten and their smiling faces and good attitudes had us really hoping for a great day. The sun was shining and the breeze was just right….but, where were the dolphins? Oh, there they are!

We saw some biiiiig splashing and a few minutes later we reached a group of six dolphins: 2 bottlenose and 4 spotted. The two male bottlenose were in calm pursuit of the spotteds, giving us great views of their interactions at the surface. When the spotteds weren’t directly interacting with the bottlenose, they were bowriding. The group was moving too swiftly for an underwater observation, so we enjoyed the show from the boat. Soon, it was time to head back and the guests took this opportunity to give a dolphin swim a shot. They were not disappointed as the dolphins came right up to each of them!

A great day for some great guests!

Until next time,
Kel

I find myself ready for a break after our field courses, as just about anyone would. But as I say goodbye to the students (and professors!), I mean it when I say I wish they weren’t going. Can’t we all just take a day off and then have the class start right up again?

I must extend a huge thank you to Dr. Yeater and her students. This group stayed focused and excited throughout their entire 12 night course. You were a pleasure to have and even though I might need a new hard drive just to store all the photos and videos you took (oh, what an awful problem!), I do hope each and every one of you had a positive experience. Our course wrapped up with a beach clean-up, free time to explore Bimini, a final photo-ID session, a dock-side BBQ with fellow hotel guests and a stop at Sherry’s Beach Bar. A fantastic finale to a fantastic course.

Until next time,
Kel

On Friday, we discussed eco-tourism, including the benefits of helping people connect with the environment and animals, but that regulations must be in place (and enforced) to minimize the negative impacts. We reflected on how we have behaved as eco-tourists during this course. We realized how we all need to be reminded about our impacts; we are all interested and aware (and interested in becoming more aware), so as a group we are already interested in reducing our impact. For others, who may not be conscious of the environment while they travel, getting them to care may be more difficult. In addition to the environment, it is important to consider the impact on the local community and how your tourism can, and should, benefit them.  We looked to the scientific literature and learned about short and long-term effects of dolphin watching boats on certain bottlenose dolphins. We can use research to inform policy makers so that regulations are scientifically informed.

Then it was time to get out of the classroom for a bit and we headed to the Bimini Museum. We divided into three teams and went on a fact-finding mission. It is a quaint little museum, but it really is filled with a lot of local history. Some of the signs were in need of repair, but it was very informative. Next it was lunch – baked potatoes! – then a 1400 boat departure.

Our boat trip began with bottlenose dolphins. But, we decided to only observe them for a couple of minutes as we knew boats had been observing them all morning. We could tell just from the boat that there was at least one individual that we had already seen. Next, we made our way to the snorkel stop…the boat began to slow and we thought, “Oh, why are we stopping in the middle of nowhere?” It was an “ocean donut” – The Hesperus. This old barge sits on the sea floor with tons of fish! This artificial reef was a popular spot for barracuda and a few lionfish. At the edges of the sand, we saw a nurse shark and more southern stingrays. There were ocean triggerfish and of course, the wreck itself. We returned to the boat and headed home, keeping our eyes out for dolphins on the way. Aaaaand….off Bimini, we saw another group of bottlenose! This group of at least 11 bottlenose were busy traveling north. We didn’t get in the water, but hey, that’s research. We still got photo-ID photos and saw chin-slapping and side breaching. And after so many dolphins all course, we’re all happy!

Back on shore, we enjoyed (really, enjoyed) an authentic Bahamian dinner cooked by Ms. Stephie. Baked chicken, mac n cheese and peas n rice…mmmmm. We ended the night with a fun film, “We Bought A Zoo.” We should have bought tissues for this emotional rollercoaster, but the challenges surrounding animals in captivity and the message of enriching the lives of those animals fit well with previous course discussion.

Thanks for following,
“Cetacean Nation” (SHU 2014)

Thursday our day began in its typical fashion, with breakfast and a class session. We did our field report and then suddenly it was time to make our lunches. We had to make our lunch early because we had a picnic lunch on the boat! We departed at 11:00 a.m. and headed south to Triangle Rocks. On the way, we even got to see a group of dolphins, most likely bottlenose, but not confirmed. Here got a briefing – which scared some of us! – before putting “chum” in the water for Caribbean reef sharks, and a few sharpnose sharks! Some of us were so scared at first, and for others, we found ourselves more calm once we were actually in the water in the sharks. The sharks distracted some of us from our buddy system, while others found ourselves glued to our buddies. Some of us saw a very large spotted eagle ray and our first remoras, some free swimming and some attached to the sharks. We all stayed together, behind the anchor line, with our captain assuring us that we’d be “fine” as long as we stayed behind this imaginary line. We’re not sure the sharks got that message! After the sharks took a bite of their snacks, they would swim by and check us out. There were at least 8-10 reef sharks, plus the sharpnose sharks. At the end of our swim, with all of us back on the boat, Captain Al gave us all a good look as he tied bait to a line and manipulated where the sharks would pursue it.

Back on the boat, we all enjoyed our lunches on the way to Honeymoon Harbour, a section of Gun Cay. We hopped into the water fin-free, but quickly realized that we were all more comfortable with our fins. So, with those on our feet, we had lots of time to feed the southern stingrays. They are so “friendly,” especially the very large one. As we fed them squid, some rays were efficient at getting them, while others weren’t so great at it! At one point, a fish stole squid right out of our hands! We were impressed at how smooth the rays’ skin is – and they came close enough we had lots of chances to touch them. For us, this was a great experiential learning opportunity. We did not even know we were going to be able to have this experience and for some of us, it was outside our comfort zone and some of us came away saying it was a favorite element of the course!

On the way home, we saw dolphins – again! This time, it was definitely bottlenose dolphins. There were at least five to eight, but they were scattered so it was hard to get a good count and it is very likely there were more. We got some photos and could already tell that some of the dolphins were the same individuals that we had seen the day before! Our captains let us watch from the boat for a while, before we really headed for home. Or not, because then we saw a huge loggerhead turtle! Captain Al estimated this turtle weighed 300 lbs! After this, we headed home. Really.

Back in class we discussed interspecific interactions, specifically between bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins in The Bahamas. Then, to wrap up our exciting day, we got to be the ones who added ID#103 to DCP’s spotted dolphin photo-ID catalog (pictured here)! From watching video, we confirmed that this calf is a female; it will take more observations to determine who its mother is.

What will our last boat trip, tomorrow, bring?
“Cetacean Nation” (SHU 2014)

On Wednesday morning, we discussed last night’s film and dolphin cognition. There is great research that is ongoing, but many questions remain unanswered. What is the importance of self-recognition? Do dolphins have Theory of Mind? We caught up on other readings as well, including “sponging” by dolphins which may be an element of culture. The specific tool use is currently passed down through matrilineal lines (vertical transmission of culture!). We found it interesting that it is the females who show this behavior. Other readings included DCP’s research into pectoral fin contact and other work on coefficients of association among female spotted dolphins.

After class, we got away from dolphin discussions and got to see the island and experience some of its culture. We toured all of gigantic Bimini aboard the Bimini Tram. With Lorrick as our guide, we passed the goats, a golf cart repair “shop,” and the local baseball field. Along the way Lorrick shared Bimini facts, including that several young Biminites were recently drafted to Major League Baseball teams. We saw Resorts World Bimini’s property and now have a better sense of the development that we have been referencing all week. We stopped at the Porgy Bay Park playground while we waited for Stuart’s Conch Stand to open. The empty conch shells were used to create a pen for live conch. In order to catch the conch, a fisherman gets towed behind a small boat, diving down when they swim over the conch. We didn’t know that conch have pearls and we tried our hand at getting the conch out of their shells (harder than it looks!). Some of us were brave enough to eat the conch pistol before trying the conch salad we came for. Then it was back aboard the tram to Sea Crest.

After a late lunch, we headed on the boat. We have had such great success so far, we told ourselves that we couldn’t expect that every day. Aaaaaand – we saw both species! At 16:45, we saw 2 young Atlantic spotteds. The group size quickly grew to 9 individuals, including 2 calves. It looked like there were only two adults, likely the two mothers. There was a lot of pectoral fin rubbing and petting (perhaps some tactile communication!). Under water, we saw a calf with a big, dark mark across the right side of its face. We’ll look at the video Kel recorded, and the photos and video we all took, soon. Some of the dolphins were playing with sargassum, including carrying it on their flukes. There were tassel barnacles on some of their flukes –something we had just discussed in class. We are all getting the lingo down and translating what we learn in class to observations in the field. Some of us saw a barracuda near the dolphins and a school of small fish. There was active rubbing from one juvenile’s pec fin to another’s genital region: perhaps an example of socio-sexual play.

On the ride back to shore, we all were starting to get pretty comfortable, enjoying our ride. Suddenly, Dr. Yeater called out, “Dolphins!” At first we thought it would just be a handful of bottlenose dolphins, but the group size was soon at least 13. They were on the move, traveling north. We turned around to follow them and collect dorsal fin photos for ID work. There were a lot of distinctive fins and we saw synchronous swimming (surfacing and diving). One was “chuffing” – a loud exhale, displacing water. The dolphins were surfacing with a beautiful evening sky as their backdrop. It was a nice surprise finale to the boat trip!

At dinner, we got to try another local take on conch, cracked conch. It was nice to try more local cuisine!

What will tomorrow bring?
“Cetacean Nation” (SHU 2014)

We’ve become accustomed to spending hours in search of dolphins, but on Tuesday (3 June) we saw our first dolphins at 15:16. It was a group of bottlenose just off the shore – another surprise, since we’ve become used to spotteds. We feel like we are finally getting the hang of swimming with – and not after – the dolphins so that we can better observe them. It was really cool to hear them echolocating and watch them find food in the sand. Everywhere we looked there were bottlenose; they were in front, behind and just when you thought they were gone, one would appear. They did not seem to mind us floating above them while they fed. When they came to the surface they would come very close to us before returning to the sea floor. During these approaches we could tell they were using their echolocation to investigate us, or perhaps our cameras. We were able to see them successfully catch a fish (or eel?) and one seemed particularly excited about his catch, or perhaps it was working harder! We were able to observe this group for nearly 50 minutes. There were at least 4 dolphins, but because they were scattered it will take photo-ID review to be sure. In the group there were 2 juveniles a nice contrast to the large adults we had seen from the boat. It was awesome!

Back on the boat we continued watching these dolphins and soon there were even more: possibly 20 individuals! Some of them were very, very close to shore; we followed them straight up the beach line. They were all over. As we reached the dredge construction project, the water became very silty, the dolphins seemed to reduce their diving and they abruptly turned direction in order to get around the construction site. This obstruction seems like it could cause the dolphins to use more energy and possibly put them at risk of greater predation as they spend more time in deeper water.

When the dolphins were bowriding, which is not very common for the bottlenose dolphins, it was cool to see them turn their heads towards each other. It is getting fun to compare our surface observations to those under water. We also saw the dolphins bowriding on passing boats’ bows. One of the highlights of our surface observations was when a single dolphin repeatedly flipped its entire body out of the water, altering the direction but repeating the behavior. We know he caught the fish, as he carried it around afterwards! We can’t wait for tomorrow!

Until then,
“Cetacean Nation” (SHU 2014)

Now that The River School’s 1st Grade Dolphin Class has explored our website and discussed dolphins, they have submitted the following questions to our researchers. We hope everyone enjoys reading their questions, and our answers. Thank you Dolphin Class!

Q: How long can they stay out of the water?
A: Dolphins cannot stay out of the water for very long. Although they are very good at leaping out of the water, their bodies are designed for the ocean. So, if they find themselves on dry land, like when they strand on the beach, they need to get back to the sea as quickly as possible.

Q: Do they like to play?
A: Yes! Dolphins are social animals and this includes lots of play. Like us, there seems to be more play among young dolphins, but even older dolphins play! Dolphins play with each other and with objects in the water, like fish and seaweed.

Q: How do Dolphins get their color?
A: Many dolphins have skin colors that help them blend in with their environment, the ocean. The bottlenose dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins that we study are “two-toned” or “counter shaded.” They are dark on their backs and light on their bellies.

Q: When was Leslie born?
A: We do not know when Leslie (ID#80) was born. But, we first saw her in 2004. She was a juvenile dolphin then and was probably born around 2000.

Q: How do they eat?
A: What dolphins eat depends on what species they are and where they live. Off the island of Bimini in The Bahamas, we have seen Atlantic spotted dolphins chase and eat fish called mackerel.

Q: Where are their ears?
A: Dolphins do not have ears that stick out like we do. But, they do have tiny holes behind their eyes – their ear holes! By not having ear flaps, their heads are nice and smooth for swimming through the water.

Q: How long can Dolphins stay underwater on one breath?
A: How long a dolphin can hold its breath all depends on which species of dolphin we’re asking about. We’re not sure how long the Atlantic spotted dolphin holds its breath. Maybe one day we will!

Q: How do we know which sound means something like hello with Dolphins?
A: We’re not sure which sounds have which meanings for dolphins; in fact, their communication probably isn’t like the languages humans speak (like English or Spanish). But, they do use sounds to communicate, as well as touch. We see dolphins rub their fins against each other all the time!

Q: How fast do Dolphins swim?
A: The speed a dolphin swims at also varies by species. Some dolphins have been recorded swimming 17, 20, even more than 30 miles per hour. That’s a lot faster than even the fastest human swimmer!

Q: How do you name the Dolphins?
A: Naming the dolphins we study is one of the ways that DCP raises money for our research. When we have a dolphin who we know fairly well, and we have photos and video of that dolphin, we give someone the chance to donate money and name the dolphin! Then, lots of other people can adopt the dolphin; just like your class adopted “Leslie!”

DCP would like to extend a big hello to the 1st Grade Dolphin Class from The River School in Washington, D.C. These students are participating in DCP’s Online Classroom Connection program.  Hello Dolphin Class!  This eager group will be spending time learning about dolphins over the next week, utilizing DCP resources and connecting with our researchers. Today, I’ll be directing these students, and their teachers, to particular areas of this website.  All of you out there are welcome to play along too!

So, 1st Grade Dolphin Class, my name is Kelly Melillo Sweeting.  Let’s start with a sort of internet scavenger hunt to help you get to know me, DCP, the dolphins we study and our website. 

What does DCP stand for? 

Can you find the ‘What is DCP’ link?  We study 3 different species (types) of dolphins in 3 different countries. Can you name the 3 types of dolphins and the 3 countries? Can you find the 3 countries on a map?

Click here for an episode of The DolphinPod called ‘The Dolphin Species Song.’ What do you think of that? Can you try to sing along?

Can you find my short biography?  Where was I born? At what “field site” (a place where we study dolphins) do I study dolphins? Do you know what country this is in? You can learn more about this field site under “About DCP.”

I am looking forward to reading & answering your questions, and “meeting” you next week!

Talk to you soon!
-Kel

Monday began with a field trip to South Bimini. We hopped on the water taxi, after waiting for the rain to pass, and then boarded “the fun bus,” a colorful old school bus from Bimini Sands. Grant & Katie introduced us to a Bimini boa and they stressed to us that it is extremely unlikely to be hurt by this type of snake. The Bimini boa is only found on Bimini and they are endangered. The one we saw was 3-4 years old and about 5 feet long. We got to hold it and touch it and learn a bit about the ongoing tagging program. The dwarf boa is another snake on Bimini and is capable of auto-hemorrhaging as a defense mechanism. Thanks to the early rain, the mosquitoes were out in full force. The nature trail itself was interesting, and we were able to see a green iguana (invasive). The whole walk was a nice natural history lesson – including some pirate history! We found a huge termite mound and had a chuckle at the white crown pigeon. There was a poisonwood tree growing right next to its antidote counterpart. Ashley Saunders came up in conversation and we had met him earlier at his Dolphin House! We saw another snake, a racer, and we learned about the only fresh water turtle on Bimini which lost its only habitat due to the current airport expansion. This will add to our on-going conversation about eco-tourism.

After the nature trail, we headed to the SharkLab for a tour. Their outreach education program has just been revamped and our guide, Zach, was extremely enthusiastic. We had a seminar/presentation in the lab which was designed like a research boat. During the presentation we learned that some sharks return to their place of birth in order to give birth themselves. The conditions weren’t right to finish our tour, so we headed back to the Sea Crest for lunch.

Some of us saw a frigate bird circling above as we planned alternative activities because we couldn’t go on the boat due to high winds. We headed back to the SharkLab to finish our tour and we waded to their sea pen, dodging Cassiopeia (aka upside down) jellyfish on the way, to see the young nurse and lemon sharks. We were able to touch the sharks and we learned about tonic immobility and their lack of bones (cartilaginous) which means that when you hold them, you need to be careful as they can bend and bite you! We learned lots of shark physiology and the on-going research of the lab, including their great hammerhead shark projects and the importance of tagging this species while free-swimming. Hammerheads have a high mortality rate when caught on a fishing line.

Back on North Bimini, we watched BBC’s Inside the Animal Mind and we all realized our dolphin boat is an international celebrity! It discussed the social lives of dolphins, how this relates to brain size and compared them to several other social animals. It was interesting to see how scanning fossils of extinct dolphin relatives can inform current research. Dinner was festive – local pizza from Edith’s and Bahamian beer. It was sooo good!

Until next time,
“Cetacean Nation” (SHU 2014)

PS: Photo to follow!