CZS Sarasota Dolphin Program: 5/20/07

Friday, May 25, 2007

May 25, 2007

Yaana has moved back into the bay, just in time for Pablo and his team to find her her tomorrow.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

May 24, 2007

Yaana remains outside the mouth to the bay. Pablo's trip to San Blas has been delayed again due to issues beyond his control.

Yaana has traveled a bit south of the mouth of Bahia San Blas, and appears to be moving roughly along the 10 m contour. Pablo is expected to be in Bahia San Blas starting today, searching for tagged dolphins.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

May 22, 2007

Yaana has moved a bit offshore from her position yesterday.

Monday, May 21, 2007

May 21 - Back in Action

Yaana is in the mouth of Bahia San Blas.

We've had some technical problems that prevented posting for a couple days. Yaana has moved in and out of the bay covering a space of about 26 km. Dr. Bordino should be in the area looking for tagged dolphins---so hopefully we will have some pics and an update for you.

Science as it Happens!

Ranging Patterns and Habitat Use of Franciscana Dolphins off Argentina: 2008

In March 2008, Chicago Zoological Society conservation scientists Randall Wells, Jason Allen, and Aaron Barleycorn returned to Bahia San Blas, Argentina, to work with Pablo Bordino and his dedicated team of students, colleagues, and fishermen, and a veterinary team from Disney’s Animal Programs, to conduct additional satellite-linked tagging of franciscana dolphins. Building on the tagging and tracking work during 2007 that indicated a high degree of residency to Bahia San Blas over periods as long as six months, the next phase of the project was designed to address specific questions about:

1) what part of the water column the dolphins use – if the dolphins show preference for water of particular depths, then fishermen might be able to set their nets at different depths in order to avoid the dolphins. Up to three satellite-linked transmitters with time-depth recorders (TDRs) will provide information on the depths of dives as well as locations.

2) developing correction factors for aerial and boat surveys for dolphin abundance that take into account the dive patterns of the animals – the TDRs provide information on dive durations and time spent at specific depths where the animals might be visible to scientists.

3) social patterns – deploying tags with identical duty cycles, it is possible to determine if the animals exhibit a stable or fluid pattern of social associations, through examination of their location data to see if they remain together or separate. In addition to the location data from the TDR tags, as many as 5 location-only tags may be deployed. Genetic samples collected during the tagging process will allow determination of relatedness of dolphins caught together.

The first two transmitters, both TDRs, were deployed on a juvenile male (#42483) and an adult female (#42485) on March 4, 2008. As data are received from these and subsequent transmitters, they will be displayed on this site, as maps showing dolphin locations.

The radio transmitter ("tag") was specially designed for dolphins and weighs only 15 grams. The expected battery life is approximately four weeks, and the tag naturally falls off some time later.

Major support for this project was provided by the Chicago Zoological Society and Disney’s Animal Programs, with tags and tag data processing assistance provided by Dolphin Quest.

CZS Sarasota Dolphin Program

Friday, May 25, 2007

May 25, 2007

Thursday, May 24, 2007

May 24, 2007

May 23, 2007

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

May 22, 2007

Monday, May 21, 2007

May 21 - Back in Action

Science as it Happens!

grampus

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