Observing dolphins above and below the surface Sunday is spent with a morning introduction to the 16 dolphins at Bailey's Key. We share marks and scars seen from above the surface so our team will become familiar with the dolphins. Because the underwater visibility is not great (due to rain), we took the
snorkel boat out to the reef for everyone to try out the MVA3. We also checked out the fish.
The afternoon for half of the team was spent at RIMS reviewing the hydrophone and recorder, and the data forms.
The worst visibility of our season The day was slow and overcast. We gathered a half hour of data but Robin could barely see the dolphins as the underwater visibility was ~3 m. The light was low due to the layers of clouds. The surface visibility was glare-ful and hampered accurate counts on dolphins within 5 m of Robin.
The behavior that Robin recorded was social with agitation among the males.
Add some thunder and lightning for excitement Robin was going to operate/propel the array today with Kathleen on the tower, staying dry. HAH! We had about 15 min of observation before the trainers and visitors arrived bringing the downpour with them. It's rained non-stop for ~4 hours now. We thought it best not to be either on the tower or in the water with the accompanying thunder and lightning. Not to mention the icky visibility and low light.
So, we reviewed data, summaries and a novel of two.