Again, the underwater visibility sucked … more, much more than yesterday. In fact, it was less than 2 m and very silty. So Kathleen’s observations with the MVA2 were limited to about 7 or 8 minutes. It’s quite difficult to conduct behavioral observation when you can’t really see all of each dolphin’s body in the viewfinder.
We also started our personal interviews with John today about this field course. And, we had a morning snorkel session from the boat at West End beach and point and also finished at Blue Channel.
The underwater visibility sucked mostly – dolphin observations because of silty waters. It’s hard to study behavior when you can’t really see it. So, Kathleen retrieved the SM2M, which was still recording! Yeah!! The red light was on and the unit was not too caked with sea crud. We thought it would have more sea life growth on it. The SM2M seemed more non-descript and was bigger and heavier than we imagined (see photo of us with the SM2M after recovery).
Our morning discussion was on behavioral observations and sampling protocols.
Our day began with two cups of coffee and a boat taxi ride to Bailey’s Key. And, once again, the dolphins were right there! We began the day with more dolphin behavior observations, noting a bit more detail than yesterday.
We had our first introduction to the dolphins after our boat taxi ride to Bailey’s Cay. The ride was full of anticipation and culminated with Kelly’s reaction, “oh! They’re right there!” They were so close and within reach, not behind 6 inches of glass! There did not seem like there could be 23 dolphins in the enclosure … maybe 12, but then we got to see the different dorsal fins. They swam close to our positions and checked us out.
Happy New Year’s Eve!
DCP/Kathleen is finishing out 2016 in and welcoming 2017 in research style … with a week of data collection and a college field course on Roatan at Anthony’s Key Resort! And, thanks to John, the MVA2 has new hydrophone arms that allow for the MVA2 to be in carry-on luggage (small black bag on left)! The arms are back to the original design and made of PVC - the green my added touch!
On Friday, Kathleen was back on the Indian River State College campus, this time to attend the IRSC Semi-Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Kathleen was supporting Ashley Locher, who participated in the Service Learning program between IRSC and DCP in May and June 2016, and continued through the summer and early fall to develop a presentation from her experience for the program at IRSC. Ashley’s poster presentation title was: Comparative studies on pectoral fin contact behaviors between wild and captive dolphin species.
We are eager to once again welcome Dr. Deirdre Yeater to our Bimini, The Bahamas field site for our collaborative course in dolphin behavior and research. Applications are now being accepted on a rolling basis. That means first come, first serve!! With an additional online component, students will participate in field research from 4 June - 10 June, 2017. All participants must register through SHU.
Field updates, holiday specials & more!
The latest issue of the Dolphin Gazette is now available! The fall issue of The Dolphin Gazette is always a fun one to write. Kathleen has returned from Roatan, holiday specials are in the air and collaborators share news! This issue is no exception.
Before I wrap up the week, I thought I'd share a photo of the SM2M deployment ... though this image is from 2-3 years ago! When I deployed the SM2M yesterday, the underwater visibility was such that at 24 ft deep, I could not see details of the surface, and vice versa. So, no photos were taken during yesterday's deployment!
We had a good week this year! Our group got in lots of dives and much bottom time. And, I was able to collect 3 hours of data with the MVA2 and a similar amount on the front-facing GoPro.
The rainy season seems to have arrived to Roatan! Another rain-filled evening dawned to overcast skies and elevated wind speeds! The current was also quite strong! We made the trek over to Bailey's Key with the hope of collecting data with the MVA2. The dolphins were social and seemingly game! I was game, my crew was certainly willing to make surface observations.