We had a thunderstorm last night! It was nature’s light show with a loud orchestra! Our towels survived the night clipped to the line outside. The dawn was not bright because of overcast clouds, which we welcomed since the humidity was lessened and the air not hugely hot! We did not get rained on during data collection and...
Monday started with a great session and awesome underwater visibility. The dolphins were social and Buzz and Rocky seemed to play keep away with Kathleen and the MVA. They pushed each other away from her fins and swam circles around her. Thank you to six of Teri’s interns (Gillian, Giselle, Jordan, Morgan, Aliya, Izzy) who helped us...
No AM data collection on Sunday morning. We gave the dolphins the morning off and our bodies a well-deserved rest! We took a slow morning and a slow afternoon with the exception of Teri’s interns who had a data collection initiation for space use data. We collected...
Even though the CSU Waterproof Rams departed this morning from AKR and Roatan, they still helped us with an AM data collection session. It was a quiet data for surface observations and space use but there was some social activity underwater. Not the least of which was...
Friday was our (the CSU students) last full day on Roatan at AKR helping to study the dolphins and learn about the marine environment (and getting to know the sometimes-odd eating habits of our classmates!). As was typical for each morning, we began with surface observations and space use data collection while Kathleen...
Thursday morning began with surface observations and space use data collection while Kathleen collected underwater video data. The session was shortened because the adult male dolphins showed a bit too much interest in Kathleen’s fins. After breakfast, we spent time...
It was a busy morning for AM data observation and video recording. From the surface there was quite a lot of upside-down swimming, synchronous upside-down pectoral fin slapping, jaw clapping and more. Under water Champ and Buzz were socializing with some chases and rubs and jawing! Trixie played with...
Today was the first overcast morning for data collection, which was a welcome relief for everyone standing on the docks collecting surface observations and space use data. This morning had dolphin subgroups in small patches with mom/calf pairs swimming near one another but not much social activity at the surface. Underwater, there was lots of...
Our first morning collecting dolphin surface observations while Kathleen collected underwater video went well. Prior to collecting data, Kathleen, Shane, and Manon introduced us to dolphin anatomy and the habitat. The dolphins were VERY active according to Manon and Kathleen and...