A bright sunny sky greeted us this morning as we boarded the water taxi for Bailey’s. The dolphins were VERY vocal and playful. Champ, Lenca, Stan, Tank, Rocky, and Sandy all enjoyed playing with Kathleen’s fins, much to her chagrin! Poli’s calf was observed nursing. Ronnie played with seagrass and Gracie and Trixie played with seagrass together. After a yummy breakfast, we had lectures from Kristin and Richard to set the academic stage for the week. Then Kathleen and Manon…
Tag: RIMS
Dolphins!
Our first full day began early! We met at the water taxi at 6:15 AM for our brief ride to Bailey’s Key where we were met by nearly all the dolphins! They whistled and postured and played. It was a great first morning, despite the rain drops. We had a brief introduction to the dolphins, the Key, and the research and peppered Kathleen and Manon with LOTS of questions.
Breakfast was followed by our delayed orientation talk by Jen Keck…
Arrived Safely! One group on time, one very delayed.
First, Happy Mother’s Day!
Second, we arrived in two groups on two different flights. Kathleen, Manon, Kristin, Poppy, Liz, and Marriah came through Miami and arrived on time – it was the first time Kathleen and Manon were 3rd in the immigration line! We actually had to wait for our bags to come out! Richard, Giulia, Katariina, Shereen, Anna, Daniel, and Amalia flew in from Houston and had about a 5+ hour delay … for a variety of reasons. But they all made it safely and in time for a yummy first dinner together.
A Weird Version of Groundhog Day – not quite the movie!
Packing. Reviewing my lists (yes, I’m a list person). And, confirming everything is ready for the field.
We (Manon and I) will be at Anthony’s Key Resort (AKR) for four weeks with three groups to study the dolphins and learn about our research, the environment, and lots of other related stuff.
The first group is a new field program from York University in Toronto, Canada, with Dr. Kristin Andrews. The second is a Colorado State University (CSU) group with Dr. Shane Kanatous. The third group is a mini-ecotour.
Travel Home and Trip Summary
Everyone got home safely on Saturday! And, I think everyone took Sunday to rest up … and maybe do some laundry and get caught up on mail and … maybe play with a puppy or other furry family member (I know I did!).
Our program was a success with students learning and….
Got your Green on Today?!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Our last day began well with a great data collection session on the dolphins. They were quieter today than previous days. They perked up as did we after breakfast when we had our encounter and swim. We met Gracie and Alita during the encounters and then got to swim with a dozen dolphins with Poli and her calf making tight passes by us and Sandy, Trixie, and Buzz trying to get us to play with seaweed. After our swim, we…
Monkeying Around!
Thursday was jam-packed with a tide-pool observation and flora by the sea assessment before Kathleen’s data collection! And the underwater visibility was SPECTACULAR! Such good long focal follows of the dolphins and even we could begin to ID some of the dolphins from the surface and close swim-by’s.
The late morning was…
Two Snorkels and a Fiesta!
We had a Wednesday full of energetic activities! Our day began with a “bright bang” – so to speak! We had a lightning show and thunderstorm/squall pass by between 4 and 5:30 AM. The squall passed in time for us to head over to Bailey’s Key to conduct our surface observations and space use data collection associated with Kathleen’s underwater video data observations. The dolphins seemed…
Permanent Memories were Formed Today!
Data collection was the name of the game this morning with space use, surface observations, and Kathleen’s underwater video data. There was moderate activity from the dolphins, but we know that Sandy, Rocky, Tank, Poli and her calf spent lots of time around Kathleen. We also were able to collect some space use data…
Off the Deep End
Monday’s data collection was early, but we recorded lots of observations and a good set of space use data. Our morning went well, and we are all getting comfier with the observations and use of the grid, as well as documenting activity levels of the dolphins. After breakfast, we met near the lobby for the shuttle ride to Maya Key …
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