2018 Field Season: Trip 5

  By Liah McPherson   We began Trip 5 of our field season on the Little Bahama Bank, off Grand Bahama Island, retrieving the acoustic receivers that were deployed on Trip 3 and looking for the elusive spotted dolphins in that region.  (To learn more about these receivers check out

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Trip 4: Smooth Seas and Lots of Dolphins

Writing and Photos By Bethany Augliere   I’ll just start by saying that Trip 4 was fantastic! We had spectacular weather, amazing dolphin encounters, and a great group of people.   Grand Bahama Island On our crossing over to Grand Bahama Island, some of the crew onboard saw false killer

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2018 Field Season: Trip 3

OUR FIRST PASSIVE ACOUSTIC DATA EMERGES: One month-ago we deployed our first E.A.R. which is a passive acoustic recording device (read the blog here).  This trip we retrieved both units to download one month’s worth of data.  Although covered slightly with sand and sporting some algae growth, both units were

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2018 Field Season: Trip 2

Trip 2 (from May 22-May30th) started out a little rough. We left late from the dock in hopes that the wind would die down and make our crossing easier. This was not the case. Unfortunately, most of the interns got a good dose of seasickness along the way — welcome

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Can you hear me now?

Watch the deployment on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IWNKRhyO5GI Researchers all over the world have turned to Passive Acoustic Monitoring (P.A.M.) as a technique to record underwater audio signals from marine mammals.  PAM systems are typically deployed and sit on the bottom or hang in the water column attached to the bottom at various

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Dolphin Research: First trip of the 2018 Field Season

  Words and Photos By Bethany Augliere   On May 8, the Wild Dolphin Project boarded our research vessel Stenella to head over to our study area off Grand Bahama Island. We had Northeast winds and about 3 to 4 foot waves, which made for a slightly bumpy crossing.  

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HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Happy EARTH DAY 2018, from all of us at the Wild Dolphin Project! Earth is our home and the only planet we’ve got. So, here are 5 simple ways you can help save the planet. 1. Reduce you use of single use plastic, like plastic water bottles, plastic bags, K-cups

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Meet the Team: Research Assistant Cassie Volker

By Bethany Augliere     Cassie Volker spends her summer living on a boat in the Bahamas studying wild dolphins. But 10 years ago, she thought she’d be working as a pharmacist. Volker grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio playing soccer and taking frequent trips to the nearby zoo, which fostered

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Release the Kraken! A Conservation Win.

Story and Photographs by Bethany Augliere With several hundred onlookers cheering for her, Kraken — a 200 pound loggerhead sea turtle — returned to the ocean after months in human care. Last June, Kraken was taken to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida. She had been struck by

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What’s an S-posture and why do dolphins do it?

By Bethany Augliere Using visual signals, along with vocalizations, is one way whales and dolphins can communicate with one another. The S-posture is one such body signal, where the dolphin bends its body into an S shape. Generally, dolphins use this body posture in two specific social contexts: courtship and

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