It was a busy morning for AM data observation and video recording. From the surface there was quite a lot of upside-down swimming, synchronous upside-down pectoral fin slapping, jaw clapping and more. Under water Champ and Buzz were socializing with some chases and rubs and jawing! Trixie played with…
Tag: Roatan
A long day in the classroom
Today was the first overcast morning for data collection, which was a welcome relief for everyone standing on the docks collecting surface observations and space use data. This morning had dolphin subgroups in small patches with mom/calf pairs swimming near one another but not much social activity at the surface. Underwater, there was lots of…
Maya Key!
Monday is Maya Key Day! And, also Memorial Day in the US. That said, each day of our field course begins with dolphin observations and data collection. This morning was a calf show with Kami speed swimming through the main lagoon with various other dolphins…
Snorkeling, Swimming, and Some Dolphins
Our first morning collecting dolphin surface observations while Kathleen collected underwater video went well. Prior to collecting data, Kathleen, Shane, and Manon introduced us to dolphin anatomy and the habitat. The dolphins were VERY active according to Manon and Kathleen and…
Welcome CSU! Safe travels York!
Today was a DCP first! Two groups of field course students overlapping in their time at AKR and RIMS with Kathleen and Manon. The York group is departing on Sunday morning and the CSU students arrived this afternoon (Saturday) – first time ever the CSU group was early in getting to Roatan!
Data collection this morning…
Sadly, Our Last Blog
Morning data collection had Sandy irritating Buzz with Champ and Alita watching the two of them engage in rough play and chases with open mouth expressions. Rocky spent time chasing tiny fish just below the water’s surface – we think the fish were trying to hide in the sargassum. After a quick breakfast, we jumped…
Octopus!
The dolphins were quite active this morning and Ronnie, Lenca, and Mr. French all showed too much interest in Kathleen’s fins! Champ and Tank were playing and Trixie was quite curious about the MVA and Kathleen but also in doing some speed swims. Bailey and Tilly spent time around the MVA and Tilly and Mr. French had a bit of a vocal tiff. After data and a yummy breakfast, we met…
Delayed Turtle Gratification
The morning was BUSY! Data collection was eventful with several somewhat odd interactions. Bailey and Tilly swam together pec fin slapping at the surface. Kathleen watched Trixie kick at Mr. French and then apologize a minute later with a belly rub! And, both from underwater and above the water we all watched Sandy and Kami play a bit of chase while Poli kept tabs on them both. After AM data collection…
A poignant world turtle day
We greeted the day by observing dolphins! Sadly, on this day celebrating world turtle day, we found a dead green sea turtle on the beach at Bailey’s Key. The Roatan Marine Park personnel handled the carcass … and might be able to determine cause of death. She was a big turtle. Our dolphin observations went well, and it was a mostly slow, calm morning. There was much rubbing but not much vocal activity. We ate a quick breakfast before…
First Day of Week Two!
We were invigorated after our day off and gleefully rode the water taxi to Bailey’s Key for early AM data collection! It was a different day with lots of play and several speed swims. Our morning, after a delicious breakfast, was in the classroom where we learned from Jen about the coral restoration project. Then, we watched the video from the morning and practiced dolphin IDs. The last portion of the morning was…
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