All dolphin photography taken under MMPA Permit #14450.
May not be used for commercial purposes.
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Founder, Principle Investigator
Dr. Stefanie Gazda, University of Florida Dr. Stefanie Gazda first came to Cedar Key in 2001 as a Masters’ student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth under the guidance of Richard Connor in order to study a feeding behavior a local fisherman had captured on video. This driver-barrier behavior was the first documented case of a division of labor with role specialization in a marine mammal, and the second one in any mammal. She went on to base her PhD work on the dolphins of the Cedar Key area and established what is now known as the Cedar Key Dolphin Project. |
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Field Manager
Rebecca Hamilton, MSc Becca first joined Dr. Gazda in the field in 2015 as a field assistant just after she had finished her undergrad degree in Marine Science at Rollins College. Her particular interest lies in communication and she went on to complete her Masters’ thesis on acoustics of Cedar Key dolphins during foraging. She currently acts as field manager, meaning she writes grant applications, helps run the field seasons, and recruits research assistants. When she is not in the field, she loves to travel and tries to visit one new country every year. |
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Summer 2020 Field Assistants
Suzanna Mickey Suzanna graduated in 2018 from Coker University in Hartsville, South Carolina with a degree in biology and ecology concentration. She started working with Cedar Key Dolphin Project in June 2019 after completing other internships in the US. Since last summer, she has continued to work on the CKDP photo identification catalog. She is interested in the dolphins’ habitat use, particularly during driver-barrier events, and how they may respond to habitat changes due to climate change over time. She looks forward to returning to Cedar Key and learning more about this unique population! Leslie Medina Leslie is from Puerto Rico and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao from Coastal Marine Biology. Her interest has always been marine mammals and for that reason she is currently a Marine Mammal Science MPS candidate in the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS). During this summer she will be working with Cedar Key Dolphin Project, specifically creating a project using Geographic Information System (GIS) software to answer some questions about the Cedar Key dolphin population's habitat use. Emma Wright Emma recently graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a minor in Microbiology. While her undergraduate research focused on soil microbiology, she is excited to pursue a career in marine research and conservation. She is especially interested in behavior, bioacoustics, and climate change research and hopes to one day work with arctic species. In her free time, Emma enjoys reading, ice dance and synchronized skating, and embroidery. Amanda Wichterman Amanda is a a fourth year pre-vet undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Marine Sciences from the University of Florida in 2021. During her time as an undergraduate, she has taken part in field work and research relating to Florida manatee health within the College of Veterinary Medicine . Additionally, she interned with a marine mammal facility, where she trained and cared for Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins in Oahu, Hawaii. After undergrad she is interested in pursuing a career in aquatic animal health, specifically focusing on sea animal rescue, rehabilitation, and release. |
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