Archive: Dec 2014

Dolphin Quest Oahu (DQO) was recognized this September with the prestigious Research Advancements Award at the 2014 International Marine Animal Trainer’s Association (IMATA) annual conference. Results from the study were also published in The Journal of Experimental Biology. During the IMATA conference, DQO Manager of Marine Animals, Julie Rocho-Levine, and Andreas Fahlman, a researcher with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, shared the advancements made possible when renowned researchers collaborate with expert animal behaviorists within the marine mammal community. Fahlman, along with researchers from the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute partnered with DQO to develop non-invasive methods for estimating wild marine mammals’ metabolic rate and lung mechanics under normal and stressed conditions. The data collected from DQO’s animals provided insights into how marine mammals manage oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen in various scenarios including when the animals are wearing electronic data logging tags….

by Cameron Dabney Dolphin Quest Hawaii’s Regional Education Supervisor Cameron Dabney joined the Cascadia Research Collective team in the field this past July on an incredible marine mammal study off the Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. This is a first-hand account of her experience. I arrive at the harbor early, ecstatic about my day ahead. The air and water are still and the reflections of the boats glisten as the morning light peaks over the mountains. The smell of fish and gasoline waft in the distance. Mesmerized by the calmness of the early harbor morning, I sit on the dock acknowledging that one of my lifetime dreams is about to come true: I am about to go out and do marine mammal surveys with Robin Baird, world-renowned marine mammal biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective. When Robin and his…

On March 31, 2014, and April 5, 2014, Dolphin Quest Bermuda welcomed two amazing additions to our family. Bailey gave birth to her daughter Brighton first, and Ely gave birth to her baby girl Devon a few days later. Both calves are now a little over 8 months old and learning all sorts of new skills. Just like children, every dolphin calf is unique, and while Brighton has already acquired a taste for fish, Devon has shown great interest in basketballs and hula-hoops. Dolphins are mammals just like you and I, and a baby dolphin’s diet is initially made up entirely of their mom’s milk. When the calves show us they are ready, usually around three months of age, we begin to offer them very small pieces of fish. In the beginning, these small pieces are a very exciting new…