MOSART and MVA Unite!

It was only about 8 minutes but really cool. Christer has worked mostly with adult and sub-adult dolphins while using the pec pac in the past. Thus, the smaller harness was not tight on Ronnie’s pec, but it stayed in place. Christer had sent 2 pacs, but only one with a girdle for the tag- the one without fit Ronnie. So after two failed attempts (Velcro and big elastic bands) to keep the tag in place, we resorted to the “glue that holds the universe together”- Duct Tape. It worked.

The Waves, Sun and a Rooster

Three things to wake you up early in the AM. Our team had 3 stations distributed around the perimeter of the key. Bill tracked my movement and called out sections at swim intervals: we identified the sections for documenting dolphins distance to the MVA as seen from above the water’s surface. As I reread the previous sentences, it seems like we were prepared for battle. This was not the case, though my attempts to remain non-invasive, ignored hopefully, were thwarted by Ronnie. Ronnie squawked, whistled, echolocated at me.

Dolphin, MVA, and Research Introductions

Dolphins 1st, then the research in context Rita, Gracie, Cedeña, Mrs. Beasley, Alita, Carmella, Mika, Maury, Fiona, Paya, Esteban, Hector, Ritchie, Bill, Ronnie, Mr. French, Ken, Jack. These are the 18 delphinid residents of Bailey’s Key. They are like extended family and warmly welcomed my team. The seaweed-toss game is a favorite. During the swim, several of the younger dolphins will bring blades of sea grass or seaweed to swimmers for a game of toss. I’m not sure who enjoys it more.

Nature

Our team arrives for a week of research Thunder, when relatively close (as in the bolt of lightning seems close enough to touch), can shake your bed. This is how our morning began, with a spectacular show that was louder than any rock concert. Our team arrived throughout the day beginning at about 1:30pm. So, the morning and early afternoon were for data collection. Primarily, we wanted to have Ronnie, then Gracie, wear the pec pacs with me and the MVA in the water. This worked out for about 5 minutes on each entry for Ronnie.

Meet, Greet & Reacquaint

Our 1st full day at RIMS The sound of gentle waves lapping greeted my ears when I woke. The day was just drawing. I could see the dolphins leaping and socializing at Bailey’s Key- always a good start. It was good to see the Galinda’s and the resort staff again. I met several new trainers and a few “old“ ones. Bruce and I coordinated on the encounter/swim schedule for DCP’s volunteers and the MOSART/pec pac data collection. Ronnie and Gracie have been wearing the pec pacs.

Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Departure at 6am. Arrival at 6:30pm It took a bit more than 12 hours to get here, but it was worth it. I met up with Bill in Miami. And, we traveled from Miami through San Pedro Sula to Roatan together (with other passengers, too!) Bill is a friend who has joined research trips since 1992. Tomorrow I’ll go down to RIMS and coordinate with Bruce (Assistant Director) regarding our research schedule. The rest of the team arrives on Saturday. Time for sleep.

Packing & Preparation for the Field

Making a list, checking it twice All my gear- cameras, underwater housing, mask, fins, snorkel, wetsuit, Mosart tags, toiletries, clothing, etc.- was laid out and ready to pack. All, that is but the 9V batteries to power the click detector and Mosart tags! A quick run to the store remedied that near miss. By early evening, my bags were packed and I was ready for an early visit to the airport.

RIMS 2005 Field Season

Departure in Two Days We are about to begin our third field season at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS) at Anthony’s Key Resort on Roatan, Honduras. We have a group of eight volunteers joining me (Kathleen) for the week. We have exciting research planned as well. For the first time, we will record both the sender and receiver roles during a communication bout. We’ll use two recording systems at the same time. Of course, I’ll bring my array (MVA4) with its click detector (ECD).