By Mira Johnson, 2024 Field Assistant

Hello! My name is Mira Johnson, and I am excited to be one of the CKDP field assistants this summer! I recently graduated from Lawrence University where I majored in Biology with a special interest in marine mammal behavior. My interest in marine animals began at a young age over many trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and tidepools of California while visiting my grandparents during winter break. In my second year of college, I participated in my university’s small Marine Program where I had the opportunity to conduct a study on the cleaning behavior of reef fish. This experience confirmed my interest in marine biology as the field I wanted to
pursue further while awakening in me a newfound interest in animal behavior.
 
Living in the Midwest, most of my research experience in animal behavior has been on terrestrial wildlife and freshwater organisms. The summer of my sophomore year I had the opportunity to work with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Snapshot program to conduct research using camera traps to study wildlife populations. This study was where I was first introduced to cameras as a useful tool in the study of animal behavior. The following summer, I worked as a Lawrence Summer Research Fellow at the Center for Limnology Trout Lake Station. There I conducted a study that experimented with infrared videography to study the
migration patterns of freshwater zooplankton in northern WI lakes. I am very excited to be drawing upon the methods I practiced in these previous experiences (i.e., photo identification, data entry, fieldwork, etc.) and applying them to my interest in marine mammal behavior. Spending a summer working with the CKDP team seems like the perfect introduction to what it is like to study marine mammal behavior before committing to a graduate program in the next few years.
 
As I am interested in cameras as a tool for studying animal behavior, what I am most excited about this summer is learning about how audio recordings and drone footage can be used to quantify behavior. I am curious to learn about how these various techniques can be used to study how dolphins communicate and engage in coordinated or synchronized behaviors. Working with the CKDP this summer is a fantastic opportunity to grow my understanding of communication and cooperative foraging tactics in bottlenose dolphins through hands-on field and lab work. I can’t wait to be part of the team and hope to get the chance to observe driver-barrier foraging in
action!

After a rather challenging field season last year, the CKDP is gearing up to resume data collection on the unique dolphin population residing around the Cedar Keys. Working with wild animals always requires adaptability, but encountering unusually large dolphin groups made data collection particularly tricky last year. Additionally, technical issues with our equipment, including drone malfunctions and boat engine troubles, added to the setbacks, leading to frustrating delays in data collection. Despite these obstacles, with the community's help, we were able to overcome the challenges and gather valuable insights, including exciting observations of new behaviors and vocalizations.

This year, we are hopeful, as it started with quite some positive news. So far, we secured three (!) grants, which is making this summer’s field season possible. We sold our previous boat (which will be highly missed) and acquired a new one, upgraded some of the equipment, meaning that we are hopeful that this year’s field season, our primary concerns will now be limited to the unpredictable elements and the behavior of the dolphins—both factors beyond our control, but familiar challenges nonetheless. We are also thrilled to welcome back a familiar face to the team: Carrie, a returning field assistant who contributed invaluable efforts last year, particularly in photo-identification tasks that continue year-round. Additionally, we welcome Mira, our second field assistant to this summer’s team!

The CKDP has managed to go out on the water a few times before the start of the field season, which have yielded sightings of many dolphin calves, marking a promising start to the season! Now, we eagerly embark on the task which we call “calf mysteries”, which is basically associating calves with their mothers, which is not always the easiest thing to do! Calves are supposed to be with their mothers at all times, but other dolphins enjoy being around the calves as well, so it is always easier to see the calved and their mothers multiple times for us to be sure who the mother is. Altogether, this deepens our understanding of dolphin life histories through long term ongoing observation.

As with last year, our focus remains on deciphering the communication patterns among dolphins. While much is known about their vocalizations, regarded for their cognitive complexity, there's still a gap in our understanding of non-vocal forms of communication—a parallel to human conversations that involve gestures and body language. Specifically, we're intrigued by the extent to which dolphin interactions mirror our own, encompassing vocalizations, body signals, and gestures.

Our daily routine on the water involves actively seeking out dolphin groups, capturing vital data such as group size, location, and the presence of calves. We deploy underwater microphones (hydrophones) to record vocalizations, including the distinctive "signature whistle" unique to each dolphin, facilitating individual identification. Simultaneously, drone technology affords us a bird's-eye view, capturing intricate body movements and gestures that elude observation from the boat.

Identifying dolphins by their dorsal fins, we meticulously photograph each individual—a task requiring skill and patience, especially when confronted with groups numbering 40 or more. This year, we will also focus on expanding our aerial footage to document the various foraging techniques employed by the dolphins, including the unique "driver-barrier" method, wherein dolphins collaborate to catch mullet above the water's surface. This will allow us to compare such foraging techniques with other dolphin populations along the Florida coast.

As we look forward to the upcoming season, we remain optimistic that we will achieve even greater success in our research endeavors!