Category: Blog & Field Reports

On Friday we woke up and worked on our usual ID’s and video logs, but then we decided to shake things up. We soon got ready and headed up the island to Edith’s Pizza for lunch. We arrived on our bikes, as they were opening and ordered our highly anticipated chicken wings and pizza. It was a much needed meal and change of pace for the day. We headed back home after eating our delicious lunch and enjoyed getting back to air conditioning after the long ride of blistering heat.

When your office is next to a beach in The Bahamas, sometimes your lunch break includes a snorkel. (For which we are VERY grateful.) That was the case for us (Patrick and Kaiya), while Tori was on her boat trip. We grabbed our gear, jumped off the rocks, and cruised through the refreshing water towards the Gallant Lady, a sunken ship right along the rocks. It was fun to watch the fish (mainly sergeant majors of all sizes) drift back and forth with the incoming tide as they went about their business.

As DCP interns, we have settled into the rhythm of our days on Bimini. Wake up to the bright sunshine, make a pot of coffee (or two, or three), and settle into our morning office tasks.

Tuesday started off like usual, we hopped out of bed and began our office work with a cup of coffee. While working we were plotting on how we were going to surprise Captain Al for his birthday. Kel is off visiting family in California, so she left us in charge of delivering his gift and a birthday pastry from the bakery. We decided that while Al and Patrick were on the boat, Kaiya and Tori would go to the bakery, and once we were all home for night we would surprise him.

After a busy week of boat trips and dolphin information sessions, the DCP team welcomed the calm weekend. However, we were going to miss the Bimini Adventures group that we spent the past week with! They truly showed an interested in the research that is being conducted as well as the health and well being of the dolphins who call the water around Bimini home. It is encouraging to see individuals outside of the research community share in DCP’s goals of education and conservation.

     Nothing beats waking up in the Bahamas and knowing that you have an awesome day ahead of you, especially if you are a DCP intern! Our excitement only increased as we began our Thursday morning office work, thanks to all of the progress we made yesterday on the video log entry and bottlenose dolphin identification. After another few hours diligently working on these tasks, it was time to get ready for our 2pm boat departure. Today, our first stop was at Bimini Road for almost an hour of fabulous snorkeling, enjoyed by guests and interns alike.

After a week of collecting field data, Marie was invited to present at the local university, Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana (UNAP), by the non-profit organization Solinia (https://solinia.org/). During this venue, various anthropogenic threats that impact both dolphin species inhabiting the Peruvian Amazon were discussed. Also, Marie presented about how bioacoustics was being used as a tool to ascertain information concerning dolphin populations. One example anthropogenic threat is the use of dolphins as bait in catfish traps. This practice seems to have originated in Brazil, but has now traveled up-river to the Iquitos, Peru region.

Wednesday started bright and early for Kel and the Trio as we began our day with an 8:30 am inflatable boat pick-up by the Captain of the Coral Reef II, the research vessel for the Shedd Aqaurium, and we were taken back out to sea where the ship was anchored and awaiting us. On this particular morning we were scheduled to do a DCP information session with the High School Marine Biology program students currently on board, and as usual, Kel delivered an enthralling presentation, and these awesome students were absolutely engaged, knowledgeable, and inquisitive.

We began our Tuesday morning with the usual office work of video logs and bottlenose ID. Except, this morning we were joined by Kel! We used the joint work time to get some questions answered and to confirm some new catalogue changes. We were very excited to be making significant progress on the bottlenose pictures and we’re hoping to keep updating the catalogue. Our morning of work passed and we had our lunch, then we got ready for the boat.

After such an awesome boat trip on Sunday, the DCP crew was very excited to get back on the water on Monday, after a morning of office work, of course. With a successful amount of work done, we, the interns, headed to the boat for their first solo trip, without either Kel or Nicole. However, thanks to their excellent teaching, we felt confident and ready to go. Once everybody was aboard the boat, we pushed off for a prompt 3pm departure. Unlike yesterday, we did not see dolphins as soon as we came out of the channel.