Research Field Notes: No. 6

6/26/2014. Dolphin Boat Survey

Today’s survey extended from the Jupiter Inlet (N 260 56.624' W 800 03.805') down to the Lake Worth Pier (26°37′11″N 80°3′31″W)

Water conditions: 0-1’

Winds: SE 0-5

Duration: 8:30am-4:00pm

Research Organization: Taras Oceanographic Foundation

Encounters: Three with a total of approximately 60+ dolphins. The first encounter was with tursiops (Bottlenose). This was a small group feeding. Encounter 2 was with a large group of stenella (Spotted dolphin). This group was very playful and was comprised of several mother/calf pairs! They put on quite the show with bow riding, wake surfing, tail slaps, all around the boat. This one went on for quite some time. The final encounter was tursiops again, but this time a very large group or 25+. This group of bottlenose was more cooperative with our boat and we got some nice shots. There were also babies in this group. One dolphin (Slappy) kept them all in line with tail slaps throughout the encounter.

[Personal notes:  SQEEEEEEE!!! Teeny tiny baby dolphins are so very cute!!]

Additional Sightings: We recorded approximately 32 sea turtles. We have also begun trash counts. Today we saw 16 trash items in the water. We try to recover these items and keep the plastic out of the ocean. Our big score this trip was recovering a large bunch of silver helium balloons. People should be aware that releasing balloons into the sky, usually ends up littering places that do not need any more trash. Shiny balloons look like bait fish sparkling in the sun. 

This is the perfect opportunity to talk about ocean plastics. Plastic is not like other kinds of trash. Trash bio-degrades. Plastic photo-degrades with the sunlight. This means it keeps breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. It never goes away. These pieces of plastic are ingested by animals and eventually kill them; the microscopic plastic dust attracts more debris resulting in huge garbage patches. Plastic does not belong in the ocean.

Other: Here is a short movie of the crew today. Unfortunately we have no dolphin footage again, but will try next trip to get it!! There are many jobs happening at once while we are on fins, so filming is not always possible [P.S. The survey boat is usually not moving this fast. It is harder to spot any dolphin if the boat is moving fast!].

Research Field Notes: No. 3

6/04/2014 Dolphin Boat Survey

Due to conditions out on the open ocean; the morning survey did not take place. Conditions did not improve for the afternoon; however we had received several reports of dolphin sightings in the Lake Worth Lagoon (26°40′53″N 80°02′45″W) over the past several days, so we decided to head down to the area travelling in the intracoastal waterways. We were not successful in sighting any dolphins. The research team spent the first part of the day in the office doing data analysis.

Conditions: Seas 3-5 feet. Winds E/SE 10 knots

Duration: 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Research Organization: Taras Oceanographic Foundation

Recorded dolphin photo ID: zero encounters on this trip.

 

Other: Behind the scenes. The boat survey is only a small portion of the work that is needed to be done for photo ID and habitat utilization studies. Each trip can produce a few hundred to even a thousand images. Once the team heads back to the office, the photos need to be downloaded, sorted and compared. The best images of each animal are organized into their own file. This step is the most labor intensive. Illustrated by the fact that the researcher has to figure out which images are of one animal [this is done from comparing distinct dorsal fin markings]; how many times you have seen each animal; and compare it to the existing ID catalog.

They are several ways of organizing these ID photos and each researcher develops their own system. There are however universal ID methods and protocol that are utilized. These processes take countless hours. There is also GIS mapping data; habitat and COA (coefficient of association) data files, etc. that need organized and analyzed depending on what the research team is investigating.

Students doing field work or internships soon learn the field part is actually a very small portion of the entire research process.

Research Field Notes: No. 2

5/28/2014 Dolphin Boat Survey

Today’s survey extended from the Jupiter Inlet (N 260 56.624' W 800 03.805') down to the Lake Worth Inlet [aka the Palm Beach Inlet] (N 260 46.300' W 800 03.500').

Water conditions: Southeast WINDS 10-17 mph. SEAS 2 TO 3 FEET +

Duration: 8:15am-1:30pm

Research Organization: Taras Oceanographic Foundation

Recorded dolphin photo ID:

Today’s trip had three encounters. The first was with two males. They were foraging and bottom feeding. The second group “acted like” moms that were “napping” on the surface with several juvenile calves close by engaging in “play time”. We witnessed one tail slap behavior and one jump out of the water as the animal was traveling.  The third group were heading south in the same direction as our survey and traveled parallel to the boat for a good distance. They initially engaged in a short bow ride. This group produced the best photo ID images. It is hard to estimate the exact number of animals encountered. This will be determined once the images have been examined.

                                          Taras Oceanographic Foundation NMFS (GA LOC) No. 13386

Other: An offering to King Neptune

Being out on the water doing field research is always enjoyable. However, some days the ocean and weather conditions make it harder than others. Students should be aware that conditions are not always perfect. This trip was no different.  One of our team members was feeling a little queasy, so she made an offering to King Neptune and all his fish! She recovered quickly though and rejoined the team. The winds and sea heights began to pick up for the second part of the survey.

Extras:

Why do dolphins jump out of the water when travelling? Go here to find out.