(Photo to come!)
Today was a DCP first! Two groups of field course students overlapping in their time at AKR and RIMS with Kathleen and Manon. The York group is departing on Sunday morning and the CSU students arrived this afternoon (Saturday) – first time ever the CSU group was early in getting to Roatan!
Data collection this morning…
(Photo to come!)
Morning data collection had Sandy irritating Buzz with Champ and Alita watching the two of them engage in rough play and chases with open mouth expressions. Rocky spent time chasing tiny fish just below the water’s surface – we think the fish were trying to hide in the sargassum. After a quick breakfast, we jumped…
(Photo to come!)
The dolphins were quite active this morning and Ronnie, Lenca, and Mr. French all showed too much interest in Kathleen’s fins! Champ and Tank were playing and Trixie was quite curious about the MVA and Kathleen but also in doing some speed swims. Bailey and Tilly spent time around the MVA and Tilly and Mr. French had a bit of a vocal tiff. After data and a yummy breakfast, we met…
(Photo to come!)
The morning was BUSY! Data collection was eventful with several somewhat odd interactions. Bailey and Tilly swam together pec fin slapping at the surface. Kathleen watched Trixie kick at Mr. French and then apologize a minute later with a belly rub! And, both from underwater and above the water we all watched Sandy and Kami play a bit of chase while Poli kept tabs on them both. After AM data collection…
We greeted the day by observing dolphins! Sadly, on this day celebrating world turtle day, we found a dead green sea turtle on the beach at Bailey’s Key. The Roatan Marine Park personnel handled the carcass … and might be able to determine cause of death. She was a big turtle. Our dolphin observations went well, and it was a mostly slow, calm morning. There was much rubbing but not much vocal activity. We ate a quick breakfast before…
Our morning began as expected with data collection on the dolphins – underwater video, surface observations, and space use data. There were some speed swims and leaps and lots of activity. After breakfast, we spent the morning in the classroom with talks by Richard and Giulia on syntax in non-human animals and whether they have it or not. We also…
We were invigorated after our day off and gleefully rode the water taxi to Bailey’s Key for early AM data collection! It was a different day with lots of play and several speed swims. Our morning, after a delicious breakfast, was in the classroom where we learned from Jen about the coral restoration project. Then, we watched the video from the morning and practiced dolphin IDs. The last portion of the morning was…
As our York University field course program is two weeks long, we had a day off to rejuvenate our minds and bodies in prep for the next week. Everyone did their own thing today, which included horseback riding, zip-lining, bird watching and hiking, snorkeling, visiting the spa, hanging out in the pool, and some work stuff. Of course, Kathleen and Manon…
The dolphins were quietly social – not much activity at the surface but some interactions underwater. We brought our gear to the session because we had a quick breakfast then went on the snorkel boat at 8:30 AM. (Activity starts early on Roatan!) We went to “Mandy’s Eel Garden” which is affectionately called the Aquarium. It felt like we were snorkeling in an aquarium among the fishes. Our afternoon included…
Tuesday, 23 May, 10:00a ET, we head away from DCP’s field sites to dive in with Joëlle De Weerdt to learn more about the dolphins she studies off Nicaragua.
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