Introducing one of DCP’s field associates to Mikura and her dolphins
It’s another year and we are set to leave for Japan on 18 May to continue our research on the dolphins around Mikura Island. This year will be slightly different in that I (Kathleen) am only staying in Japan for about 2 weeks, and on Mikura for about 8 days. I will have my first summer in 15 years actually at home, in Connecticut. (Data analyses await me in CT with the aim of actually finishing a few manuscripts that will be made available through the DCP web site in the fall.) And, following suit with our Bimini field season, one of DCP’s Research Associates, Justin Gregg, a doctoral student at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, will assume the data collection and research responsibilities on the dolphins around Mikura. Justin joined DCP as a student about a year ago and is pursing his Ph.D. on the topic of referential communication among dolphins. I’ll let him discuss his research topic in more detail later in these field reports, though let me add that it is quite an interesting topic. Justin is multi-lingual but at the early stages of learning Japanese. I am sure he will provide an entertaining and unique perspective on the dolphins and people of Mikura Island.
DCP was founded on two primary goals – research and education. By providing opportunities for students to participate in workshops and field research, we are achieving these goals as well as gathering a solid data archive focused on several areas of dolphin communication and signal exchange. So, please join us daily, from Mikura with Justin or from Bimini with Kelly and Darcie as DCP’s Research Associates continue to increase our data base of information on dolphin behavior, acoustics and communication.