Many visitors, guests fill the boats.
So far this season, from my first boat trip on 18 May til Friday, I have recorded 12 videotapes of 30 minutes each – 6 hours of video data. I have about the same amount of time recorded with the ECD, echolocation click detector. And, Mai-chan and I have reviewed four of those tapes to confirm ID's of dolphins were have observed. Confirming ID's is the first step when analyzing the data. We have to know who we are watching and observing before it can begin to mean much. At the very least, this is true for communication and behavior studies. Mai-chan is an expert at remembering each dolphin, their scars and marks. I remember all the spotted dolphins from the Bahamas and sometimes get the ID numbers between both groups mixed up. I am glad for Mai-chan's help. The ID data for these bottlenose dolphins around Mikura has been gathered since 1994 by the Mikurajima Iruka Kenkyukai (MIK). This is the Mikura Dolphin Study Group. DCP works with MIK and refers to the MIK ID data for information required upon which to base our communication studies. Together we all achieve more … and can share information over more months during the summer. Tomorrow is likely to be in port … but things can change. Cheers Kathleen