Happy New Year MARMAM readers.
Registration for the following class is now open to non-enrolled students. So,
if you have been looking for a field course for general enrichment, are getting
ready to return to school or are a recent graduate, please consider signing up
today!
GET OUT OF THE CLASSROOM....AND GET INTO THE FIELD!
Looking for an exciting, hands-on summer course? The Dolphin Communication
Project (DCP), in conjunction with Georgetown College, is pleased to offer a
FIELD COURSE IN ETHOLOGICAL STUDIES - MARINE & TERRESTRIAL. The field portions
of this course will take place in Bimini, Bahamas and Nassau, Bahamas.
Full Course Dates: 20 May - 11 June, 2012
Field Dates: 20 - 31 May 2012
Course description and objectives:
Students will be introduced to the study of animal behavior using a combination
of lectures, readings, discussion, and research with both a wild dolphin group
and a captive dolphin population. Lectures will focus on understanding animal
behavior from an ecological and evolutionary perspective. Readings and
discussion will focus on current research and methodology. Fieldwork will
provide students an introduction to the skills necessary to conduct animal
behavior research and to demonstrate these skills by participating in
independent research with senior scientists at the field location.
Class Format:
Non-field portions of this course will be completed remotely, via the free
Internet communication program, Skype. Exact dates and times are to be
determined. The field portion will take place at two sites and attendance at
all lectures, activities, and training sessions is mandatory. The format of the
classroom meetings will be discussion-oriented. Questions and class
participation are strongly encouraged. Training sessions (at Dolphin
Encounters) and research hours are also mandatory, for the safety of the
student and the animals.
Cost: $2,450 per person (USD)
Included:
Air transportation between Fort Lauderdale, FL and field sites
10 nights' accommodation (double or higher occupancy)
3 meals a day (one group meal out in Nassau not included; optional meal out in
Bimini not included)
4 half-day boat trips in search of dolphins (weather dependent)
Gratuity for boat, dock and hotel staff in Bimini
Transportation to and entry into Dolphin Encounters
Airport/Hotel transportation in Bimini and Nassau
Course instruction by Drs. Kathleen Dudzinski (DCP) and Rebecca Singer
(Georgetown College)
Certificate of completion (upon request)
Not included: Airfare to/from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
You must be at least 18 years old and fluent in English to participate. US
citizens are required to have a valid passport for entry into The Bahamas (a
birth certificate is not sufficient). Students of other citizenship should
confirm entry requirements. Students currently enrolled in a degree-seeking
program are given first-priority. Registration for non-matriculated students
will open, space available, 1 January 2012.
No previous experience with marine mammals or marine biology is required,
however, all participants should be comfortable on a boat, snorkeling and
working as a team.
Course may be used for general enrichment or course credit; the student is
solely responsible for arranging credit with their home institution or
Georgetown College. Fees associated with course credit are not included in the
course fee.
This is your chance for a real life research experience with wild and captive
dolphins in the clear, warm waters of the Bahamas!
Come join us!
For more information on this course, visit http://tinyurl.com/DCPAnimalBehavior.
If you have questions on this course, please contact DCP at [email protected].
For more information on DCP, including a list of publications, please visit
www.dolphincommunicationproject.org.
A non-refundable deposit of 20% ($490) is due at the time of registration, with
full payment due by 28 February 2011. Deposits and payments are currently being
accepted at http://tinyurl.com/DCPAnimalBehavior. If you prefer to pay by US
check (small discount applies!), please contact us at [email protected].
The minimum enrollment is eight students, with a maximum of 14; so, sign-up
today!
_________________________________________________________________________
The Dolphin Communication Project (DCP) is focused on the dual goals of
scientific research and education: we take results from research projects and
disseminate them into educational programs for students of all ages. DCP has a
team of researchers (graduated professionals, graduate students, undergraduate
interns and volunteers) who work together to examine how dolphins communicate
in order to shed more light on the meaning of the interactions between
individuals and groups. We have 3 active field sites that include wild and
captive dolphins of 3 species. DCP collaborates with vessel operators from
Bimini and Dolphin Encounters to study dolphins ranging in age from a few
months to more than 30 years old. Below, please find a selected list of DCP's
peer-reviewed publications. For a full list of our publications, please visit
www.dolphincommunicationproject.org.
Dudzinski, K.M., Clark, C.W., Würsig, B. 1995. A mobile video/acoustic system
for simultaneously recording dolphin behavior and vocalizations underwater.
Aquatic Mammals 21(3): 187-193.
Dudzinski, K.M. 1998. Contact behavior and signal exchange among Atlantic
spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). Aquatic Mammals 24(3): 129-142.
Paulos, R.D., Dudzinski, K.M., Kuczaj, S.A. 2008. The role of touch in select
social interactions of Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) and
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus). Ethology 26: 153-164.
Dudzinski, KM, Gregg, JD, Ribic, CA, Kuczaj, SA. 2009. Flipper's flipper - a
comparison of how, where and why spotted and bottlenose dolphins use their
pectoral fins to touch peers. Behavioural Processes 80: 182-190.
Melillo, K.E., Dudzinski, K.M., Cornick, L.A. 2009. Interactions between
Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus)
dolphins off Bimini, The Bahamas, 2003-2007. Aquatic Mammals, 35:281-291
Dudzinski, KM. 2010. Overlap between information gained from complimentary and
comparative studies of captive and wild dolphin communication. International
Journal of Comparative Psychology 23(4): 566-586.
Dudzinski, K.M., Gregg, J.D., Paulos, R.D., Kuczaj, S.A. 2010. A comparison of
pectoral fin contact behaviour for three distinct dolphin populations.
Behavioural Processes, 84:559-567.
Greene, W., Melillo-Sweeting, K., Dudzinski, K. 2011. Comparing object play in
captive and wild dolphins. International Journal of Comparative Psychology
24(3):292-306.
Dudzinski, KM, Gregg, JD, Melillo-Sweeting, K, Levengood, A, Seay, B., Kuczaj
II, SA. 2011. Tactile contact exchanges between dolphins: self-rubbing versus
inter-individual contact in three species from three geographies. International
Journal of Comparative Psychology - Special Symposium Issue (In Press)
_______________________________
Kelly Melillo Sweeting
Bimini Research Manager
Dolphin Communication Project
www.dolphincommunicationproject.org
_______________________________________________
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