After two exciting days of bottlenose dolphin encounters, it almost looked as though we’d have to stay inside today; a thunderstorm struck us in the hour before our scheduled boat trip. Magically, the sun came out just in the nick of time, and we headed out on calm seas to search for dolphins. An hour into our trip, at 16:14, we spied three spotted dolphins immediately ahead of us. As we approached, the three adult dolphins raced to ride the wake of our bow. Alexis recognized Split Jaw (#22, pictured here) among them.
Monday was the second day on the water for the summer interns and the conditions were perfect (calm and beautiful). We headed out of the Sea Crest a little after 15:00 and were about to take a gear check/snorkel stop for some of our new guests, when all of a sudden we saw a single bottlenose dolphin surfacing in between crater feeding spurts at the bottom of the ocean. Alexis managed to take a few surface photographs of the dolphin’s dorsal fin while the gear check commenced.
On Sunday, Alexis and Amy eagerly boarded DCP’s boat for our first boat trip of the season! Only 20 minutes into the trip, we encountered a group of 15-20 bottlenose dolphins, including at least 3 calves. We hopped into the water and found that they were crater feeding on the sandy bottom, with a nurse shark lurking nearby (hoping for a handout, no doubt!). Although busy searching for food, the dolphins were inquisitive when surfacing, swimming within a foot of us and checking out our equipment with their eyes and sonar.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.