Category: Blog & Field Reports

The morning began bright and sunny and our observations began with a light breeze. About 5-7 minutes after Kathleen entered the water to observe the dolphins, the skies opened and it rained on us. (We learned what it was to be true field researchers … collecting data under all types of weather!) The dolphins seemed to be very slow this morning and they did not immediately greet Kathleen when she entered. And, the dolphins seemed to greet the students on Platform 2 more than any other students this morning.

Dolphins! We started our day bright and early with dolphins … of course, we had the water taxi ride over to Baileys at 6:15 AM. We worked with the space-use data sheets for our first time this morning in association with Kathleen’s data collection session. It was nice to see the comparison of details for when Kathleen was with the dolphins versus when she was not. The sheets helped focus what I wanted or should document for data. Overall, the dolphins seemed less active this morning (at least at the surface of the water) than yesterday.

Since this is our first field report, everyone will contribute their most memorable event from today.

Alyssa – for me today, the most memorable part was when one of the dolphins came up and tried to get us to play with it. But because we did not play “correctly” it left to hang out with his/her friends. (Maybe tomorrow I will be able to recognize him/her!)

Zach – One of the dolphins presented us with seaweed … almost tried to drop it onto the dock.

My flight from Miami was delightful! And the arrival was spectacular! It was one of the first times in a while that I could see Anthony’s Key and Bailey’s Key on approach to Roatan! The sea was flat calm and only a few clouds in the sky! I arrived mid-day and was not pleasantly pleased when I saw the MVA rugged case was open when on the carousel! One of the latches had been broken off and the zip-ties I’d applied had not been replaced after TSA searched the case.

Friday was spent packing gear, making sure the cameras (AX100 and GoPros) were packed with the batteries and cards.

Interested in an Adopt-A-Wild-Dolphin kit or Adopt-A-Wild-Dolphin kit + Dolphin Bracelet bundle as a Christmas or Hanukkah present? 

Order by 12/19 for expected delivery* by 12/25 with free, standard shipping.

Order by 12/21 for expected delivery* by 12/25 with expedited shipping (additional fee).

*To US address.

2019 is nearly over!

DCP is very excited about our poster presentation at the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, Spain. Lead author and long-time DCP assistant/student, Nicole presented our work on associations among the spotted dolphins off Bimini. If you saw the poster in person, thank you for your interest in learning more!

Abstract:

This study is the first to investigate the social patterns of a population of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) off Bimini, The Bahamas, during a 14-year period (2003-2016). We generated association indices and conducted cluster, network, and temporal analyses using SOCPROG 2.8.

Adopt-a-wild-dolphin Holiday Bundle 2019!

Order by 12/19 for expected delivery* by 12/25 with free, standard shipping.

Order by 12/21 for expected delivery* by 12/25 with expedited shipping (additional fee).

*To US address. DCP can ship to non-US addresses, but cannot estimate arrival dates.

It’s time to put a little more dolphin in your life by purchasing a dolphin-themed gift that will also help support dolphin science and conservation. The Dolphin Communication Project is offering a very special, limited edition Adopt-A-Wild-Dolphin Holiday Bundle this holiday season.

Thanks for visiting our poster at the 2019 World Marine Mammal Conference. We’re excited you wanted to learn more.

DCP has been studying bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins off Bimini, The Bahamas since 2001. In 2014, we published a short note on the evidence of failed shark attacks on the spotted dolphins. Now, we’ve conducted a similar assessment on the sympatric bottlenose.

At least 28.7% of catalogued bottlenose dolphins had at least one injury or scar that could confidently be atttributed to a shark.