July 22, 2015
Wednesday 390 min
08:00 - 02:30
Lab exercise. - Population Lab, mark re-capture population study
Data collection started at the Marina, where Keaton met the boat and was handed a data collection form to record the survey start data and instructed how to add data at various point during the day. We left the marina and headed out the Jupiter inlet. The west winds made the seas flat and calm. We followed a survey track, just 2 kilometers from shore heading south. Keaton and the other researchers were tasked with watching for signs of dolphins, or turtles, over a 45-degree section, in a manner that provided a 360 degree coverage around the boat. Keaton, and the other observers were directed to share the binoculars to scan the horizon every 15 minutes, looking for signs of dolphin behavior. Keaton was also asked to take a turn driving the boat while the captain did his scan with the binoculars. Once dolphins were seen, we maneuvered the boat closer to their location. The encounter consisted of several mother dolphins teaching their calves to ‘catch’ food. The mom’s threw a piece of fish in the air, and the calves instructed to catch the food before it hit the water. Keaton was tasked with filling in the data sheets during the encounter and recording the observations I describe while I gathered photographic data. After observing, photographing and recording observations for an hour or so, we returned to the survey track and continued south. We finished a survey (Jupiter inlet to Palm Beach inlet) and ventured south to the lake park pier. We then turned around and conducted a survey north from Lake Worth to Jupiter. We encountered a traveling group of eight dolphins during the northern survey. The boat was parked at the marina at 2:30 and Keaton helped carry the gear to the parked cars.