A morning introduction to the data sheets and protocol …
Nine eager individuals have joined us for this third and last week of field work at RIMS for this season, 2004. Four – Dave, David, Lois and April – were with us last year all on the same trip. (They failed the exam at the end of the week and had to come back.) Karen joined me in the Bahamas and Ron participated in Bahamas research and joined me in Japan for some observations of the dolphins. Luanne, Corrine and Geoff are new to DCP ecotours and my research … but they learn well and swiftly and we were soon working like a team together for weeks. We reviewed data collection protocol, data forms and the gear (hydrophones etc) this morning. The afternoon was our first session and everyone did well (see comments from our team below). The dolphins were quite social: Hector and Fiona were rolling and rubbing with Hector trying to mate Fiona. Gracie swam with Mrs. B and her son and the other younger dolphins tried to lure my team into a sea grass toss game. Dolphins can be very persuasive. Several of the dolphins followed me to the platform as I exited the water. Even Alita – a shy adult female – came by for a look. An afternoon swim preceded data logging and some video analyses – a good start to our week. Tomorrow begins with a 7 am session. Cheers Kathleen