In this special episode of The Dolphin Pod, Kelly and Justin sit down to answer a whole batch of awesome questions from kid listeners! We tackle questions like:
Is a whale’s spine hard?
Why do whales have blowholes?
How long can whales stay underwater for?
How high can dolphins jump out of the water?
How long do dolphins live?
An interview with DCP Research Associate Manon Themelin and DCP Director Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski. We learn how Manon got started researching dolphins and the exciting discoveries she’s made. Manon’s research into relationship quality (RQ) shows that the methods we apply to the study of ravens and chimpanzees works just as well for dolphins, albeit with some minor tweaks to accommodate for dolphins’ aquatic lifestyle and peculiar ways of socializing. Also, it turns out that the positions dolphin adopt when swimming next to each other and how they navigate each others’ slipstreams can tell us a lot about the relationships between individual dolphins.
Justin interviews Jason Bruck, Assistant Professor of Biology at Stephen F. Austin State University. Jason is the head of the Bruck Integrative Biology Lab where he and his students study dolphin behavior and cognition. In this interview, Jason and Justin discuss advice he offers to student hoping to study dolphins, his latest research on dolphin signature whistles and urine, his unexpected past as a juggler, and more.
Dolphins are pretty strange when it comes to the way they treat strangers. Unlike most primates (including humans) two completely different social groups – including different species – are able to integrate their societies without any violence whatsoever. Find out how DCP researchers Kelly Melillo-Sweeting and Nicole Danaher-Garcia discovered that the spotted dolphins living around Bimini are able to live peacefully alongside bottlenose dolphins AND how these Bimini spotted welcomed a group of four dozen “refugee” spotted dolphins into their society without batting an eye.
A special podcast celebrating 20 years of The Dolphin Communication Project. In this episode, Justin and Laura interview DCP royalty: Kathleen Dudzinski and Kelly Melillo-Sweeting. Hear how DCP got started after Kathleen’s humble beginnings as a movie star, and how Kelly accidentally stumbled into an 18-year career as a dolphin researcher. Also, listen as Laura asks Kathleen and Kelly a series of awkward questions she had been meaning to ask her Tinder dates.
Hey Parents! In this episode, we make references to dating apps and adult relationships. Mostly general dating stuff – nothing explicit.
In this special podcast episode celebrating 20 years of the Dolphin Communication Project, Laura and Justin interview Kelly Melillo-Sweeting, Bimini Research Manager and all-around awesome scientist. Kel explains the findings form her recently published article on laterality in bottlenose dolphins – that is, a preference that dolphins seem to have for the right side of their bodies when hunting for prey in the sand.
Climate change poses a real threat to dolphin species across the globe. In this episode, we discuss a heatwave off the coast of Australia that appears to have killed a number of wild dolphins in Shark Bay.
In the episode, Laura and Justin transform themselves into a pair of dolphins and explore the waters of Shark Bay, Australia to figure out what happened when a mysterious heatwave wreaked havoc on the local dolphin population.
Rising ocean temperatures pose a serious threaten to marine species, including dolphins.
Dolphin Pod co-host Laura Teasdale thinks that she used to know more about dolphins when she was a kid.
When Hurricane Jova hit the west coast of Mexico in 2011, a group of dolphins living near Tenacatita Bay disappeared! Where did they go and what happened to them? And did they ever return? Find out in this week’s episode.
The primary article being discussed in this episode is:
Ortega-Ortiz, Christian & Wonneberger, Elena & Martínez-Serrano, Ibiza & Kono-Martínez, Tadashi & Villegas Zurita, Francisco & M. Enríquez Paredes, Luis & Llamas González, Myriam & Olivos, Aramis & Liñán-Cabello, Marco & Gerardo Verduzco-Zapata, Manuel. (2019).
We’ve got a brand-new format for The Dolphin Pod that is equal parts science and magic. Yes, MAGIC! We’ll be discussing a recently published scientific article about bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Trieste that engage in what news outlets have dubbed timesharing – with two dolphin groups using the same habitat at different times of day. Laura and Justin use the magic of podcasting to transport themselves onto a small boat off the coast of Slovenia where they see “first hand” what these timesharing dolphins get up to.
Whether you’re a young student interested in learning more about dolphin biology, a college student looking for internship experiences working with dolphins, or a seasoned researcher hoping to connect with colleagues on topics of dolphin behavior, ecology, or cognition, you’ve come to the right place.
The Dolphin Communication Project charitable solicitation number ch42894, meets all requirements specified by the florida solicitation of contributions act. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free (800-435-7352) within the state of florida, or 850-410-3800 when calling outside the state. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state.
