Interactions Between Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Dolphins
It is strongly believed that cetaceans, which consist of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, are some of the more intelligent species that exist alongside human beings on this planet. Naturally, due to this high level of intelligence, they are more likely to have interactions with other individuals. These individuals can be members of their own species,…
Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader: Dolphin Edition
A common belief among many people is that humans are the smartest creatures on Earth, but is that really the case? Multiple studies have shown that humans are not the only intelligent animals on the planet. Cetaceans are known to be very intelligent animals, especially Bottlenose Dolphins. This cetacean species is often seen living in small groups, also called pods, that hunt and mate together. Within each pod, dolphins communicate with each other through whistles that can be individualized and assigned to different dolphins (Oceana). To summarize, the pod of dolphins can act as one unit. They communicate, mate, and hunt together. Image 1. Displays multiple dolphins in their respective pods. More than one pod is present and they swim with their own pod. Photo taken by Elyse Vick for the Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center. Along with…
Biomagnification and Persistence of Chemical Marine Pollution
As the abundance of marine debris in the form of plastics and other trash increases, we have also seen a great increase in community efforts to minimize this trash. It is easy to visualize the damage done in the piles of trash on the beach, mylar balloons floating at sea, and the famous pictures of…
Do Skin Lesions in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins Change?
Cape May, New Jersey is home to hundreds of Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins are a migrating species of cetacean that travel to warmer weather in the winter. However, Cape May is where they come back to each year to give birth and raise their young. This makes Cape May a great location to study…
A New Tenant to Cape May
We have a new dolphin in our Cape May waters! On May 31st, 2016 during our 10:00AM trip, we spotted a pod of our residential dolphins. We recognized a few of the different dorsal fins, including our catalogued dolphin, Triscuit (Tt0008). While watching the pod feed, we noticed another dorsal fin that was very mutilated….
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…