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Teachers in the Field |
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Teachers in the Field |
January 22, 2002
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The fog was thick this morning, so our departure
was delayed until 11. In the meantime, I researched answers to the
questions that Mrs. Ellis sent me from Quidnessett.
Great questions! They'll be posted from the dolphin homepage so check back tomorrow for my answers. You can see that the fog lifted quickly and I am collecting the Environmental data. What does the refractometer measure? Do you remember? |
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At the dock we were greated by two of Florida's beautiful birds - the Great White Heron and the Snowy Egret. They were taking a dock walk before flying off. Do you know that both these birds are visitors during the summer to Rhode Island waters? |
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Dolphin sighting!
We went into the Gulf looking for our elusive dolphins and found a large pod of 10 dolphins off of Longboat Key. These dolphins looked like they were having a great time. There was one great leap, that I saw but missed as a camera shot. Sue Hofmann, our captain, said that are difficult to get. |
RP27-F119 Can you spot the freeze-brand # on the fin? |
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I got a fluke shot! |
Checking the cards to find the dolphin match. |
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I hope you appreciate this special shot! This dolphin was right close to our boat and I was lucky to capture the moment. |
Mr. Rydgren and Ms Hofmann |
Don Rydgren has been on Earthwatch projects all
over the United States. He has been on the Dolphin Research Project
in Sarasota for the past seven years. Mrs. McCorry and I learned
a lot from Mr. Rydgren and his wife, Ann. They share a very special
love of nature and an appreciation for scientific research.
Ms. Sue Hofmann, Senior Marine biologist, handles nearly all of the survey trips in the Dolphin Research Project. |
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We headed home after circling Longboat Key. Check
out these highrise condominiums that line the coastline.
Would you like to see this construction on the shores of Narragansett Bay? |
| We got back to the dock around 4 and I left for the Marine Mammal hospital where I stood a watch with Ami, the pygmy sperm whale, until 8 PM. She and her mom were stranded on a beach in Miami and brought to Mote a year ago. The mom died and Ami is being brought up by the staff and dedicated volunteers. We wrote down every time Ami had a complete respiration (inhale and exhale) through her blowhole, as well as when she just exhaled. Sometimes Ami would stay under and circle around in her tank for 3 minutes. I watched Ami get a feeding of her milk that was chemically reproduced from her mother. On Thursday I have signed up for another watch. More to come... | |
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