2018 Field Season: Trip 7
By Liah McPherson Trip 7 of our field season began with a great encounter with moms and calves on our first day! We had just cleared customs and were heading to anchorage when spotted dolphins came leaping to the bow of the RV Stenella. The group consisted of Naia,
2018: An Intern’s Perspective
I lived aboard the Research Vessel Stenella as an intern with the Wild Dolphin Project for the first trip of the 2018 field season. We embarked from the New Port Cove Marine Center in Palm Beach, Florida and set out for our anchor point in Bahamian waters. As we crossed
Dolphins and Drones— Studying Behavior from Above
As any scientist will tell you, field work is no walk in the park. In our case, the research depends on calm enough weather, a smoothly running boat, and the agenda of wild dolphins. The ocean could be as flat as glass— but if the dolphins aren’t interested in our
2018 Field Season: Trip 6
By Cassie Volker Unfortunately, the weather got the best of us this trip. We had mostly sunny skies during the days, but the wind was whipping like crazy! When we have high winds the water becomes too rough for us to work and we end up anchoring for cover.
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
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
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
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
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
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.