Here are the scientists working, while I took a short video, "Spinner Dolphins at Midway Atoll." Cynthia Vanderlip (above) and her crew conducted a dolphin survey while visiting Midway, before traveling onto Kure Atoll for a summer of work. As we approached the SW channel leading from the deep blue sea into Midway's shallow, turquoise-colored lagoon...there they were! LOTS of Spinner Dolphins, Nai`a in Hawaiian, or Stenella longirostris! For an hour or two we observed their behavior. Cynthia took pictures; individual dolphins can be identified by distinctive markings on their dorsal fins.
Ilana Nimz (left) used a special instrument to record the depth of water;
and Matt Saunter (right) logged the data onto the clipboard data table.
2 comments:
Years ago when we were studying juvenile Galapagos sharks at Midway, we would tease the dolphin researchers about their "aggressive" dolpins that would cause our "peaceful" sharks to hide. Typically when the spinners came through, the juvenile Galapagos made themselves scarce!
Oooooohhhhh! Hope I get to see a juvenile Galapagos shark...I think!
Post a Comment