VOLUME 14 ISSUE 1 2010
u UNDERCOVER DOLPHIN LOVER ...... 2
u Adopt-a-Dolphins on facebook ...... 4 The Dolphin
u DCP visits japan for a conference ...... 7 gazette
NEWSLETTER FOR THE DOLPHIN COMMUNICATION PROJECT
The Dolphin Communication Project (DCP) is focused on the dual goals of scientific research and education. WOW! The second decade of this millennium! We just completed our 8th field season Dolphin fundraiser - check them out! at RIMS and will soon commence Our research season at RIMS was our 10th season around Bimini. Time a success and we included a new is simply flying by! Luckily we are student and a new class this January. learning more with each season As usual, the Gazette is filled with and year as we continue to study new information and updates on our dolphin communication, behavior research and programs. I hope you and acoustics at each of our field enjoy reading this issue as much as we sites. This issue of the Gazette focuses have enjoyed writing it to share with mostly on Bimini - the studies, the you. people and, of course, the dolphins. Kathleen Kelly continues to oversee DCP’s In this issue Bimini Field Program working with U n d e r c o v e r D o l p h i n both Bimini Undersea and Sea Crest L o v e r | D o l p h i n s o n groups. Two dolphins are available F a c e b o o k | B i m i n i Photo by Al Sweeting for naming through our Name-A- E c o t o u r 2 0 1 0 | R I M S update|Internships|Dolphin www.biminiadventures.com m a t c h i n g The DolphinGazette is printed on 100% recycled paper!
Mailing Address Thank you to DCP Internships Volunteers!! Dolphin Communication Project If you are interested in interning with P.O. Box 711 DCP would like to thank Binti Ackley and DCP during a fall or summer semester, Old Mystic, CT 06372-0711 Marliese Friedman for all their help this more information is available on our USA winter. Without your effort and assistance, website. Please note, most internships are DCP’s office could not run so smoothly. office-based and do NOT include field You do a great job processing data and work. Check out the web site or contact helping to keep things organized. Well us at [email protected]. done! Undercover Dolphin Lover
by Shannon Keefe. ello there. My name is Shannon Keefe and I’m 17 years Hold. We live on a tiny island in the Bahamas called Bimini and my parents, Bill & Nowdla Keefe own a dive shop here called Bimini Undersea (www.biminiundersea. com). We’ve been living here my whole life, and our obsessive hobby of swimming and snorkeling took a major turn when mom decided to swim with the dolphins that live off shore. Freckles… One dolphin in particular is my favorite, even today. She was very The Sighting… old back then, and the older they get the more spots they have. I One day when my mom and I were on the boat, we noticed called her Freckles because she had so many. She always had that dolphins swimming by. At first we thought it was a one old wise woman vibe about her; like she was your grandma. I used time thing; that they just happened to swim by because the to say she and her friends were talking to me because they whistled Gulf Stream is very close to Bimini’s shoreline and we get a and chirped. We found out later that when they do a special kind of bunch of cool one-time sightings. Though, we began to get whistle underwater, it’s called their signature whistle. This means curious when we kept seeing them. I don’t know about you, that this whistle is different for each dolphin, and it’s like they’re but seeing something pretty cool more than once doesn’t fall telling you their name. I was all over that! I even tried to say under the “cool one-time sighting” category in my book, “Shannon” to them, but I didn’t know the translation from English even at 3 years old. to Bubble that well… I made due though. I haven’t seen Freckles in a while; I’m guessing it’s because she’s really old and can’t be as active and playful as she used to be. I like to think that she checks up The Search… on us with her echolocation when we go out, and can hear us. Maybe If you hear good gossip from someone, you go to find out she talks to the other dolphins and asks how we’re doing… if it’s true, right? Same thing applies here, we had a hunch that we just had to find out if it was true; are the dolphins here regularly? The next question The Experience… was ‘do they like people’? So in our free time People always ask me “How has this experience we took our boat and just patrolled the shore of changed you?” or “How do you think your life is Bimini to get to the bottom of it all. After a while different because of the dolphins?” My first reactive we found that they were actually there a lot of response is to say my life hasn’t changed; I’m no the time, and it came to be known that they live different because I swim with them… But thinking off shore year round! This won mom the title of about the question longer, I realize I honestly don’t The Dolphin Lady and won me… nothing. No know. I was so young when this happened, that I don’t acknowledgement whatsoever. *sigh* The life I remember life without them there. They have always lead… been apart of my upbringing. I haven’t gone a summer without swimming with them at least 20 times; I Making Friends… haven’t gone a day without thinking about them. They After that, we were obsessed! We went all the are as much apart of my life and my childhood as my time and it seemed like there were two different kinds: the parents, friends, and family. In all actuality, I have been swimming ones with and the ones without freckle-like spots. We now with dolphins for 14 years and my sister is only 12. I’ve known them know, thanks to DCP and other dolphin gurus, that they’re longer than I’ve known my sister! I honestly have no idea how life different and they’re called Atlantic spotted dolphins and would be if I didn’t have them around… Thank you dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. To me, the bottlenose looked the same, thank you DCP for sending us Kelly to help us learn and find out but the spotteds, or freckled ones as I liked to say, were more about these creatures. For that, I am truly grateful. different. After going out a lot, it seemed like they knew us and our boat (because each boat sounds different) and we were getting to know each of them! Their spots have different patterns, it was so awesome recognizing them and having them recognizing us! 2 Shannon RIMS 2010 DCP’s first Animal Behavior College Class and an Eco-tour
January 2010 launched our 8th (!) season studying the dolphins who call Bailey’s Key home. We were greeted by 24 bottlenose dolphins (and several humans) during our week eco-tour during the third week of January. Bailey’s Key is the smaller island just to the west of Anthony’s Key and is part of the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS) at Anthony’s Key Resort (AKR). AKR has been in operation since 1968 and RIMS was founded by the Galindo family in 1989. This was the first trip I had made in January, completing my season-complement for visits to Roatan. January is part of the rainy season, and I was surprised by how lush the forest was, how green everything was and how tropical the climate felt not just in temperature but visually as well. The eco-tour was actually the second half of arrived that afternoon. The eco-tour was a bit different my visit to AKR; the first ten days encompassed the from our previous sessions in that we had one eco- tourist first college course on animal behavior that DCP has and one student. Penn has spent much time working with offered. other dolphin science projects from Hawaii to Florida and currently volunteers with The Dolphin Project out of Georgia. We had four students representing He and Wu-Jung conducted the surface three universities. This team (Amber, observations, participated in two swims with Amanda, Kristin and Sarah) experienced the dolphins and then Penn and I assisted the coldest temps I have ever felt on Wu-Jung in her data collection. You can find Roatan - we even saw our breath one Wu-Jung’s summary on page 7 of this issue morning. But the underwater visibility of the Gazette. was fantastic and we collected 4 hours of data in total with the MVA. The She is a doctoral student in the MIT/WHOI students attended lectures on various joint program and is focusing on dolphin topics related to animal behavior and echolocation use during foraging. Because also conducted their own observations as the dolphins at RIMS have not yet been well as assisting me with the collection habituated to wearing the DTag - a recording of DCP’s continued baseline of data on device that captures the outgoing dolphin this group of dolphins. We were up and clicks and their returning echoes - the MVA over to Bailey’s by 6:40 each morning wore the tag for 2.5 hrs of data collection. and spent 30 or 60 minutes collecting Using the DTag and MVA together means data. Once we had the basics for data that Wu-Jung will have video details on collection and behavior, each student formed a research the behavior associated with dolphin question and spent time observing the dolphins and echolocation for the data we collected. In total, we collected 11 collecting data for a short paper to be written after the hours of MVA data and 2.5 hrs of DTag data during this field field portion of the class was complete. season (7-24 January) at RIMS. We definitely had a successful season! Each student did a really good job making observations and focusing on their particular topic ... and learned the value of making definitions specific and objective! Daily updates related to this class were posted to DCP’s field reports and so you can read them and see how we progressed through the course. I felt the class was a Kathleen success, and hope the students felt the same!
The DCP eco-tour immediately followed the class - students left on the 16th and Penn and Wu-Jung 3 Join us on Bimini Announcing Adopt-A-Dolphin FAN Pages! this May!
Are you a past, present or future adopt-a-dolphin parent? Did you give one of Bimini’s Come join DCP researcher Kelly Atlantic spotted dolphins a name? Do you just wonder what they are up to? Well, now any Melillo at our beautiful Bimini, and all Facebook users can become FANS of individual dolphins! Fan pages will be filled Bahamas field site! As many with DCP info, but also specific stories related to the individual dolphin! of you already know, DCP has been studying the wild dolphins To become a Fan of, for example, Lil’ Jess (#35), just search for in this area since 2001. If you join us during our May Eco- DCP: Lil’ Jess the Dolphin Tour, you’ll enjoy 5 nights’ hotel accommodations, hotel/airport Looking for someone else? Just replace “Lil’ Jess” with the Adopt-A-Dolphin name of your transportation on Bimini, rental choice! And while you’re at it, don’t forget to become a Fan of Dolphin Communication snorkel gear, morning research Project! For a full list of Adopt-A-Dolphins, head to www.adoptawilddolphin.org. activities and, most importantly, 5 boat trips in search of wild Atlantic spotted and bottlenose dolphins! During these boat trips, you’ll have the chance to assist with research - and swim with these amazing animals. The trip begins on Sunday May 16, 2010 and ends on the morning on May 21, 2010. The cost is $1,220 per person (double occupancy). Boat space is likely to fill up soon, so head to our website for more details and sign up today!
http://tinyurl.com/BIMeco-May2010
Help DCP landPrincess a grant!
We’ve put in a grant proposal that you can checkout online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/yjmrzfr
Anyone can leave a comment about our grant idea, and the granting agency (The MacArthur Foundation) will be keeping tabs to see which proposals generate the most buzz. If there any any fans of DCP out there who would like to help, please feel free to leave feedback about how totally awesome our grant idea is. Which it is of course. You can comment up until the 22nd of February. The more the public gets excited about it, the better our chances of getting the grant! Here’s the idea in two sentences:
The Dolphin Science Academy is an Internet-based gaming application that will test participants’ knowledge of dolphin science. By watching hundreds of online videos focusing on topics like species identification, dolphin biology, etc., members who attain ID#078 - This young the highest rank might even win a chance to study dolphins in the wild. male needs a name! Check out page 5 4 Dolphins up for Naming in 2010
The Dolphin Communication Project is pleased to announce an opportunity to provide a name for one of the wild dolphins identified from our study population in Bimini, The Bahamas. As individual dolphins living around Bimini are sighted more regularly, and our research team is able to recognize and identify them with ease, they are entered into our permanent ID database. Initially, new dolphins are assigned a number, but as we get to know them a bit better and their actions reveal their unique personalities, we occasionally offer the public the chance to give these dolphins a name of their own. We currently have two dolphins available for naming: #078 and #086. The cost to give one of these dolphins a name is $750 - a rare opportunity, and the ultimate unique gift! Learn more by visiting http://tinyurl.com/yh7krnd #078 This juvenile male was first seen in 2004 and was already independent from his mom. He was seen again in both 2005 and 2006, often in the company of Finn (#09) and Split Jaw (#22). At first, he was recognized by the large spot on his belly, so researchers really appreciated it when he rolled over! He’s an active, healthy dolphin who seems mildly curious about humans, and very interested in playing with his dolphin friends. He is beginning to develop more dark spots on his body. DCP researchers enjoyed seeing all of his new spots in 2008 and 2009! We wonder what he’ll look like in 2010! Sf ID#078
Now that you know a bit more about #078, what name do you think suits him best? The cost to give a name to #078 - a rare and unique opportunity - is $750. If you’ve got a name in mind, you can purchase your name-a-dolphin kit today!
#086 This adult female was quite mysterious when first observed. When ID#86 was “riding the bow” of the boat, we saw that she has an area behind her blowhole with virtually no spot development. While underwater, we saw that she has a very interesting spot pattern below her right eye. This “pinwheel” pattern is likely the result of a puncture wound. Our problem with these observations was that it took us months to realize that the dolphin on the bow & the pinwheel dolphin were the same animal! Now that we know, we enjoy seeing her even more and look forward to observing her and her calves in future years.
5 Adopt a Wild Dolphin www.adoptawilddolphin.com
What’s in your Dolphins currently up Adopting a wild Adoption Kit? for adoption dolphin with DCP helps to fund:
The purchase of new research equipment (e.g., cameras, underwater microphones)
Conservation and education programs on Bimini, in the US and around the world
Publication and dissemination of DCP’s research results to the scientific community and the general public An official adoption certificate Maintenance of the DCP website, field Photograph of your adopted dolphin reports, and our podcast The Dolphin Pod Details on how to download dolphin Classroom education programs for vocalizations from the Bimini adopt-a- school-aged children including DCP dolphins as a ringtone or audio file Youth Program, Dolphin Research Trainee, Classroom Connections DVD containing video of the Bimini dolphins Volunteer, ecotour and internship opportunities for the public Biography of your adopted dolphin ? Welcome letter and registration info
Information Booklet with Atlantic spotted Name one of the Bimini dolphin fact sheet and info about the dolphin and we’ll add Dolphin Communication Project your dolphin to this list! See page 5 for details. Dolphin trading card sample
Holiday gift ideas Adopt-a-wild-dolphin t-shirts www.cafepress.com/holidaydolphin tinyurl.com/ylfx44v
6 News, updates, and ways you can help DCP
Conference in Japan! (again!) Researcher Wu-Jung Lee visits RIMS with Kathleen DCP will be attending the 15th Biennial Meeting of the International Wu-Jung describes her research: Society for Comparative Psychology in Hyogo, Japan from May 19-21, It is well known that dolphins use their broadband 2010. Below you can read an abstract echolocation clicks to search, identify, and capture the prey. of a paper that will be presented at However, detailed aspects of this process are not completely the conference by DCP researchers: understood. Compared to the more traditional stationary setup in biosonar experiment, my goal is to study the biosonar Title: Tactile Contact Exchanges behavior in a more dynamic setting by allowing the animal Between Dolphins: self-rubbing to move freely while performing target discrimination tasks. versus inter-individual contact in three species from three This setup may bridge the gap between the knowledge learned geographies in the lab via captive animals and findings in the field from wild animals. By putting a digital acoustic and behavior Co-authors include:KM Dudzinski, JD Gregg, KE Melillo, SA recording tag, the ‘DTAG’, on the echolocating dolphin, Kuczaj II sound the dolphin might be hearing during complicated maneuvering can be recorded. My hope to assess to what Dolphins are tactile mammals often observed to exchange extent can the dolphins modify their echolocation signals and rubbing or static contact behaviors. Video data from four whether this is affected by echo feedback from different types delphinid study groups representing four geographic locations of target. were examined and tactile behaviors documented for comparison. The four study groups include the Indo-Pacific I joined Kathleen’s trip to the Roatan Institute of Marine bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) from around Mikura Science during Jan.16-23 to meet and discuss the plan with Island, Japan; the Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) the director and trainers of the institute, and to perform from around Bimini and along the White Sand Ridge, The initial on-site instruments test. Instead of tagging the Bahamas; and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from dolphins, DTAG was attached to Kathleen’s MVA system a captive group resident to the Roatan Institute for Marine in order to obtain sample clicks and simultaneous video Sciences (RIMS), Roatan, Honduras. Pectoral fin contact recording to work with. Background recordings by two between individuals at each location were investigated as channels of high frequency broadband hydrophones were were self-contact behaviors for each group. The latter are also obtained. I will be analyzing this initial data set and represented by sand or substrate rubbing, rubbing on floating making plans for future visits in the coming few months. objects or other non-dolphin items. Pectoral fin contact was mostly conserved between groups - wild to wild and captive to wild - with more similar behaviors observed than differences. Self-contact behaviors were similar in distribution but substrate Wu-Jung Lee is a PhD differed between study sites. Within-group, between-group candidate in the MIT/WHOI and inter and intra-individual differences will be presented and Joint Program in Applied discussed. Ocean Science and Engineering. She is interested in exploring the use of broadband sonar signal by both humans and dolphins. 7 All dolphin adoptions through DCP DCP’s Adopt-a-Dolphin Program help support our dolphin research throughout the world, and the creation DCP currently has ~20 dolphins from our catalog of Atlantic spotted dolphins residing and implementation of local, national, around Bimini, The Bahamas available for adoption. While adoptive parents do not get and international education programs for to take their dolphins home, they will receive a certificate of adoption, a photo of their students of all ages. adopted dolphin, some facts about Atlantic spotted dolphins, information about DCP and Each adoption costs $30 and lasts for our research around Bimini and a dolphin video. They will also receive the most recent one year. Become a spotted dolphin edition of the Dolphin Gazette, DCP’s quarterly newsletter, announced quarterly by parent today & support valuable scientific eblast. Be sure to send us your email address, or subscribe online at the newsletter page!. research!. Yes! I want to Some of our dolphins are listed below. For a complete list & all dolphin biographies, check out www.adoptawilddolphin.com Juliette | Niecey | Tilly | Swoosh | Nemo | Lone Star | Trudy | Tina | Lumpy | Lil’ Jess | adopt a dolphin! Freckles | Split jaw | Vincent I would like to adopt a dolphin: $30 for one year. Dolphin name: ______Please cut out and mail your order form, with check, to DCP at P.O. Box 711, Old Mystic, CT 06372-0711. Credit card payment is available online through our web site at www.dolphincommunicationproject.org Please SEND my adoption package to: If this is a gift, please note gift GIVER address:
Name: ______Name: ______Address: ______Address: ______City: ______State: ____ Zip: ____ City: ______State: ____ Zip: _____ Email:______Email:______
Postcards Iruka Gear Bookmarks Membership $1.00 each/ 3 for $2 To purchase Iruka gear visit $0.25 each/ 5 for $1.00 www.cafepress/irukagear $15 Student welcome packet
$25 Individual : welcome packet
$35 Outside US : welcome packet
$45 Family : 3 notecards, 3 postcards, & welcome packet
$75 Supporting : 3 notecards, 3 postcards, copy of Dolphins The Lighter Side & welcome packet
$250 Contributing : 1 DCP tank top, 1 DCP t-shirt, 3 notecards, 3 postcards, copy of Dolphins The Lighter Side & welcome packet Notecards $500 Patron : Limited edition matted print suitable for framing, 1 DCP tank top, DCP Gear 1 DCP t-shirt, 3 notecards, 3 postcards, copy of Dolphins The Lighter Side & $2.50 each/ 3 for $6 To purhcase DCP gear, visit welcome packet www.cafepress/dcpgear $1000 Benefactor : 25% discount for individual sponsors on a DCP Bahamas’ Ecotour trip, Limited edition matted print suitable for framing, 1 DCP tank top, 1 DCP t-shirt, 3 notecards, 3 postcards, copy of Dolphins The Lighter Side & welcome packet
Support DCP’s research efforts buy purchasing some of the many products that we offer for sale. All products seen here are also available on our website: www.dolphincommunicationproject.org All profits from the sale of these products will directly fund DCP’s research and education 8 efforts. DCP is a nonprofit organization. Dolphin Matching match the dolphin species with its picture
Risso’s dolphin We’re a distinct looking dolphin found in the warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Males can reach a length of 12 ft 6 in (3.83m) and females can reach 12 feet (3.66m).
Commerson’s dolphin We’re found in very cold water around southern South America and the Kerguelen Islands. We’re among the smallest ocean dolphins growing to be no more than 5 ft 9 in (1.74m).
Atlantic spotted dolphin We’re one of DCP’s study species and are found throughout the Atlantic Ocean. Males and females are practically the same size, with a max of 7 ft 6 in (2.29m).
Amazon river dolphin We’re the most abundant river dolphin species and are found in South America. Males are slightly larger than females; males can be 8 ft 2 in (2.5m) while females can be 7 ft 3 in (2.2m).
Dusky dolphin We look similar to Pacific white-sided dolphins, but are found off the coasts of South America, southwest- ern Africa and New Zealand. We can be up to 6 ft 11 in (2.11m). Pacific white-sided dolphin We’re found in large groups in the North Pacific Ocean. Males are slightly larger than females with a max length of 8 ft 2 in (2.5m); females can reach 7 ft 9 in (2.36m).
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