Scalloped Hammerhead Conservation Efforts
Figure 1; Credit to Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center Database; Photo taken by Victoria Reader Throughout the summer, I have been researching the patterns of the Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) in the waters of Cape May and Wildwood from this year compared to last year’s data. Last year the American and Atlantic Star…
Portuguese Man o’ War and Current Displacement
Portuguese Man o’War seen by Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center The Portuguese Man o’ War is one of the most infamous jelly fish in the world. People who may know only the most simplistic facts about the ocean will be able to tell you that it is one of the most deadly jelly…
Frequency and Correlation of Surface Observed Behaviors of the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in Cape May, New Jersey.
Credit to Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center Database Introduction Collection of opportunistic data during whale watching trips can offer a wide range of insights into cetacean behavior. In addition to spatial information and long term tracking of individuals through photographic methods, notable short-term behaviors of individuals are recorded during sightings (Hauser 2007). Feeding…
OUT OF THE DEPTHS: MYSTERIES OF OUR OFFSHORE DEEP-DIVING WHALES
Photo credit: Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center Database Far out in the Atlantic lurk strange creatures considered to be the deepest diving of all mammals. These record setting animals are Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris). Normally found far from shore, the Research Center has encountered and photographed individuals of this species during pelagic…
Minke Whale Calf Beaches Itself Along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, New Jersey
Last week on Sunday, June 21st, at around 6:30 PM, a one-year-old Minke calf (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) had washed up along the Delaware Bay within Cape May Court House, New Jersey, and was still alive at the time of arrival. This was reportedly the third time the calf had been beached. One-day prior, the whale was found…
Identification Complication: Ephemeral Associations between Pseudo-Stalked Barnacles and Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins
The migration route of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is seasonally motivated, wintering in North Carolina and further south, followed by an occupation of the coastal habitats of the nutrient-rich, warm watered Jersey shore from early April through early December. This movement is accompanied by shifts in the dolphins’ social behavior, feeding patterns, mating opportunities,…