We always have to start with a balanced breakfast and Saturday was no exception. We wrote Friday’s blog and then discussed dolphin social structure, including associations between mothers. Who knew how appropriate this topic would be!
Lunch began with conch (and vege) salad and Caesar salad. Some of us really like it – and others were at least happy to have tried it. It seemed to depend on individual’s take on the consistency of the conch.
Friday began with a sleepy start after breakfast and blog, going straight into lecture. We briefly recapped the topic of play before moving onto group living in cetaceans. We discussed the baleen whales in addition to the toothed whales.
On Thursday, we woke up, had breakfast and wrote our blog, before watching a video and practicing using an ethogram. We had a lecture on play and then our morning break. Some of us went to the straw market and others got ready for lunch. Casey is our resident hair stylist, specializing in a-mazing braids that are perfect for snorkeling. What would we do without her? (Be very frustrated!). We returned for lunch and boat prep.
The boat departed at 14:30 today so that we could snorkel the Bimini Road, aka The Road to Atlantis.
After our now-standard morning routine of deliciousness (aka breakfast) and blog writing, our Wednesday continued with a lecture about ethograms and different methods for sampling animal behavior. We revisited the Dolphin House and Mr. Saunders had us put up the tiles we brought him – he was really happy and we were honored to have contributed to the Dolphin House. Several of us met “Skippy” (some of us more than once!), a friendly local.
When we woke on Tuesday, it was sad and dreary – but even before this, Dr. M, Dom & Ben braved the rainy skies and walked four miles! After breakfast and our blog, we discussed the assigned articles on photo-identification. After class, some of us went to the beach for a bit and played Cards Against Humanity.
Monday morning began with writing our blog, following by lecture. We got an introduction to DCP and the dolphins we will see off Bimini before learning about the DCP cameras and what we should aim to do in order to get good photo-ID pictures. After class, we headed to the beach to practice snorkeling. The waves were really strong and Captain Al mentioned that this was the first time in a long time that the waves were actually rolling and breaking on shore.
I am very, very excited for this and the coming field reports! Last Wednesday, Nicole Danaher-Garcia (intern-Masters Student-research assistant-extraordinaire) arrived on-island and has been busy updating our photo-ID catalog and prepping for our current field course. Dr. Radhika Makecha (check her out in the collaborator section under the Research tab) arrived on Sunday with 12 students from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU).
Marie Trone, Ph.D., is a DCP collaborator (see her DCP page here). She left on June 8 for Peru. Because internet access is sketchy in the jungle, Marie will send Kathleen updates about once every week or two for posting to DCP’s field blog.
Thursday was the last boat trip for the SMC group and everyone was hopeful it would be a great one, in part because high winds kept all of us on land on Tuesday and Wednesday. The wind was to our backs at the start of the trip, which was a good thing because the seas were still rocky! Thankfully, we did not have to go far to see the dolphins.
With a radio tip of a large group traveling, we stayed close to shore.
If you donate $8 to DCP this month, the Dolphin Communication Project's board will match* it, turning your $8 into $16. Donate $22 and it becomes $44. Donate $107 and you really give $214.
DCP relies on the financial support of our supporters and now, you can have an even greater impact that you thought possible. Why does DCP need your money? DCP has just begun our annual research season studying wild Atlantic spotted and bottlenose dolphins off Bimini, The Bahamas.