Category: Blog & Field Reports

Friday was less windy but still a very full day! We were able to complete three sessions with each dolphin (hurray!) following our revised research protocol. We shifted our focus to assessing what preference the dolphins might have for each symbol (circle vs. star) and also identified a roster of ‘rewards’ for each symbol that the trainers currently consider “a little” or “a lot” for each specific dolphin. To rewind a bit – we we receiving results that were perplexing when coordinating training to assess whether the dolphins would consistently select the star (a lot).

We had a wild ride on the ferry into Blue Lagoon Island on Thursday because of a rolling well and high winds. It was a reminder of just how unpredictable the ocean can be to folks who spend their lives on and around it!

We were able to conduct four sessions with Zig and Ludwig and to see if Finn might participate a bit in these request sessions. That is, we are looking to see if the dolphins will show a preference between two symbols – a circle and a star.

It’s baaaaaaack! Your chance to get a DCP shirt! This year, our adult short sleeve (5 colors) and adult long sleeve (white & gray) feature a throwback to DCP’s original logo. 2020 is our 20th Anniversary!

Women’s tanks (2 styles, 4 colors each) and UPF50 rashguards (4 colors) are also available featuring our current logo.

This special order period ends on Monday (Nov 18th). Shirts and bundles are expected to ship ~26 December. So, while they won’t arrive for Christmas & Hanukkah, they will be worth the wait.

On Wednesday, we were able to conduct 4 sessions each with Ludwig and Zig for the delay gratification early training (to assess preference between the circle and star) and we also were able to get 3 sessions with Finn. It was a productive day and in this photo, you can see Heather and Te-Shalla setting up for a session with Ludwig.

Heather and I arrived to Nassau on Tuesday afternoon for our current few days of data collection on the dolphins at Blue Lagoon Island home of Dolphin Encounters (DE). We met up with Annette, Director of Education and Staff Development, to confirm the logistics of our visit.

DCP is teaching several field courses at our Roatan field site. But, there is ONLY course with space available:

 

7 – 14 March 2020, Field Course in Animal Behavior & Psychology, in collaboration with St. Mary’s University (StMU)

 

Remaining spaces are now open to non-StMU students. The course is taught by DCP’s Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski and StMU Professor, Dr. Heather Hill. Tuition credits with StMU are not included, but are not required. Cost per student is $1550 (USD). This includes lodging, food, instruction and a dolphin swim and encounter. Tuition credits and airfare are not included.

Dr. Deirdre Yeater is gearing up for her 7th field course with DCP, at our Bimini, The Bahamas field site. Field dates are May 26 – June 1, 2020. All participants must take the course for SHU credit, but with online and field components, non-SHU students are welcome & encouraged to apply.

DCP has asked a lot of questions about how dolphins use their pectoral fins to touch each other (check out Kathleen & the team’s long list of publications on the topic!). Our latest peer-reviewed article (that means other scientists had a read and agree the study is sound) looks at pectoral fin contact between Atlantic spotted & bottlenose dolphins.

This morning had our group at the water taxi stand at 6:15 AM for our last data collection session. The underwater visibility held out! (Hurray!) I was able to collect another 40 min of underwater video and the dolphins were vocal and social.

Thursday dawned … sort of! The sun stayed behind a layer of clouds for the bulk of the early morning data collection at Bailey’s Key. Still, the visibility was good, the dolphins quite social, and the current strong! I swam much during this morning’s observations but was rewarded by much social behavior. Tilly jawing at Tank. Dory and Stan rolling around accompanied sometimes by Elli, sometimes by Poli, and sometimes with Tank! Gracie had another leaf and floated it in front of me.