​Field Season Challenges

 By Jolinde Vlaeyen (PhD Candidate and Lab Manager)
​Dolphin research is not all about fun and spending time collecting data on amazing dolphins, it also comes full of challenges, whether it is the behavior of the dolphins, the weather, or all the technicalities of planning a smooth sailing field season. This season especially has been intense with all of these things.

One of the challenges that we deal with every season, is working with wild animals, who definitely have a mind of their own. As such, we usually need to adapt following what they do, which is what science is. However, this year the dolphins have been behaving quite different compared to otheryears; we see them very often in the same places, in very big groups (±30), and rarely in small groups.

For this year’s data collection, this is rather frustrating, because to answer my research questions, small groups of dolphins are preferred. This way, we can more easily identify who vocalizes, who responds, and see on the camera and drone what is happening underwater. When the dolphins are in big groups, it is rather difficult to follow each individual. Why they are behaving differently this year is still something we’re trying to understand. Other researchers around Cedar Key mentioned that the turtles and the sharks are also behaving differently this year, so my bet is on climate change.

Another challenge is the weather. Because we have a small boat and because dolphin spotting becomes harder once the waves become bigger, we can only go out on the water when the weather is near perfection: glassy waters, barely any swell, and no rain. Usually, the mornings in this area are as described, and the wind and/or rain pushes us back on land between 2-4pm. Yet, this year, rain and storms have been too common in the mornings, meaning we cannot go out, and a side effect of this is that the water has been murkier for longer periods, and therefore not easy to see the dolphins through it with the drone.

The biggest challenge this year however has been technicalities. We are using a combination of a drone, so we are able to also see what they do from a different angle, as well as acoustic recordings. We have been fighting the drone this season, as it created a lot of issues for us, and some were fixable, others were not. We were able to buy a new one, but that one failed, and then tried another one which also had issues. That drone has been discontinued, so, we decided to buy a different brand, which is not waterproof, meaning we need to be extra careful catching it on the boat. Because we are a small NGO, these decisions need to be taken carefully, because we do not have the money to buy multiple drones at once. 

The other big issue has been the boat engine, which has had multiple different issues over this season. All of this means a lot of waiting, either for the drones and engine parts to be shipped, and then the fixing itself as well, resulting in days of less or no data collection.

What has been amazing is the community feeling in and around Cedar Key. People have generously offered to lend us their boat; while we were fixing our engine at the dock, others have tried to help us out in the nicest ways; and our mechanic has been very helpful and fixing our boat issues fast as possible to get us back to doing research ASAP. I could not be more grateful for how everyone has been involved and helpful! Thanks to this, we have had a great run these past days, have finally been able to get the data we needed, and observed amazing – and maybe even new – behaviors in combination with some vocalizations. Let’s hope this field season ends on this high note!

​As much as this season has been the most challenging one just yet, this year for me has been the best year with the Cedar Key Dolphin Project, and I will be back next year!