research

5/15/21 – CMWWRC Database On May 15th, 2021, I witnessed a very rare event. Some would even say it was once in a lifetime sight. It seemed like just a normal day on the water while interning on the American Star for Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center. But, halfway through our trip, we…

Shark Encounters of New Jersey Arianna Nixon Intern at Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center, University of Tampa September 6, 2017* *To view the most recent shark attack data, please visit the Global Shark Attack File.

Background: As the fall progresses in Cape May New Jersey the sea surface temperatures in the waters surrounding the southern tip of New Jersey begin to drop steadily. Beginning at around 70 degrees in September and dropping to around 40 degrees in December. Many fish species are year round residents in the area and are…

My bedroom at home is on the top floor of our house.  It sits back from the main road and there are no streetlights that flood my room with a hazy orange glow.  Instead, the only thing I can see at night is the distinct outline of the pine trees that line my yard.  Sometimes I  pop the screen of one of my windows out and crawl through my open window onto the roof so I can view the unobstructed night sky.  The Big Dipper is always easily visible on a clear night, as is Orion, and even the Seven Sisters, faint and clustered together.  I can even see the Milky Way.  This, I have come to realize, is a rare view for most of the world’s population. A view of the Milky Way over Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park,…

The North Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins that reside in the Cape May, NJ waters are at the top of their food chain. With no viable predators, our dolphins are free to rule the waters, while consuming whatever they choose. As this may seem advantageous for our dolphins, it has actually become a serious health problem. Like…

A very popular question that arises while out on our whale watching cruises is the question of when is the best time of the year to see whales in the Jersey shore area and the best time of the day to see them. The question, although appearing to be basic since the Jersey Shore sees…

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….

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…

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…

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…