Since 2001, DCP has been studying a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the waters around Bimini, a small Bahamian island along the Great Bahama Bank. Each field season has been extremely successful and, as we continue to collaborate with Bill & Nowdla Keefe's Wild Dolphin Adventures and Bimini Adventures, we now have over 90 individual dolphins in our Photo-ID catalog. In 2006, we also began systematic documentation of the common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the area. That fledging Photo-ID catalog as 38 individuals and we look forward to adding more!
The purpose of DCP’s research here is to analyze the group dynamics of dolphins found on the Great Bahama Bank, north of Bimini. Identification of individual dolphins and examination of their association patterns provides details and insight into their social structure and behavior. We will continue to examine if any of the identified dolphins match those individuals observed farther north, along the White Sand Ridge. To read more background information, click here .
The 2010 Bimini field season is once again being conducted by DCP Research Associate Kelly Melillo . This will be Kel's eighth summer season in Bimini, and she continues to be there year-round, in hopes of collecting more non-summer data. As always, we are extremely excited about this year’s research. We look forward to the students who will join us and all of the dolphin swim guests we'll meet along the way.
Kel will be keeping folks around the world up to date on the research by posting regular field reports. Click on a posting below to see what we (and the dolphins) have been up to! Click on the links below for information on how you can support DCP's Bimini research program:
Become a Member | Adopt a Dolphin | Purchase merchandise featuring a Bimini dolphin | Donate |  Subscribe to the field reports using RSS
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Written by Kathleen Dudzinski
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Sunday, 21 February 2010 02:52 |
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 Today’s winter dolphin trip was spectacular. Nowdla Keefe had small group of passengers and everyone was thrilled that the sun was shining and the seas were calm. On the way out of the harbor we passed a shark, but our thoughts were on dolphins. We were busy early as a small group of bottlenose dolphins appeared to be feeding. They had no interest in the boat, so after everyone got a good look (and I got some ID shots) we headed in search of spotteds. We were not disappointed! It was a special day as we were able to observe a group of eight dolphins – 4 moms and 4 calves. Trudy (#57, pictured here) and Stefran (#82) appeared to have the older two calves, while Lone Star (#56) and a mystery adult had particularly young babies. We watched them from the boat and eased our way into the water. At first the calves seemed quite eager to check us out and then we got to see the moms. During our second water entry, they had paired up and were slowly swimming toward the sea floor.
On the way home we got to check out a good sized shark (tiger?) from the safety of the boat and a bonus look at bottlenose dolphins again. We couldn’t have asked for a better day! Until next time, Kel |
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Written by Kathleen Dudzinski
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Wednesday, 20 January 2010 22:42 |
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 Today was the first dolphin trip of 2010 and it was a fantastic day. Bill & Nowdla had a small, but excited group of passengers and we were all ready to see the dolphins. The seas were flat, the sun was shining and it wasn’t long before Nowdla spotted them – the spotted dolphins, that is! The boat headed toward them and we soon saw Lil’ Jess (#35), White Blotch (#29) and White Blotch’s calf, ID#94. The length of their bond is definitely on the long side of average; #94 is now 5 ½ years old and still hanging close with mom! White Blotch did not show any signs of being pregnant again yet either. There was a fourth adult spotted in the group, but even though I got a close look at it, I couldn’t readily identify it. Hopefully I’ll know once I review the video. During the trip we had two great underwater encounters – the dolphins came very close, especially Lil’ Jess and #94, who are pictured here (Lil' Jess is closest to the camera). In between our swims everyone also got a great show while the dolphins rode the bow of the boat. What a day!
Until next time, Kel |
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Written by Kathleen Dudzinski
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Saturday, 02 January 2010 17:09 |
 New Year’s Day was spent sorting through photographs from the past week’s dolphin trips. I am thrilled to start the new year with a new bottlenose dolphin! Welcome Tt38! The Tt in the ID code stands for Tursiops truncatus, the Latin (aka scientific) name for bottlenose dolphins. This allows us to immediately reference the species – so we don’t confuse Tt38 with Atlantic spotted dolphin #38 (“Cerra”). Tt38 was seen in a spotted dolphin group, however there did not appear to be too much direct interaction. I hope we see more of Tt38 in 2010! -Kel |
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