I recently finished up a teaching assistantship with Field Studies of Marine Mammals (a Dalhousie University summer field course). The course is pretty incredible because it not only includes fascinating lectures on all aspects of cetacean biology and ecology, but also a camping trip to the Bay of Fundy and multiple days out on a whale watching boat. The students are divided into small groups and each group conducts a mini project while in the field. As the course TA, I supervised two students as they worked on an ecotourism impact study. I also gave two guest lectures (one on sperm whales, the other on acoustics) and helped design and lead an acoustic analysis workshop. All in all, TAing my first Dalhousie course was an incredible experience and I can't wait to do it again! Not to mention I got to visit a new part of Nova Scotia, go camping, spend time on the water, and see plenty of great wildlife (humpback whales, sunfish, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and EVEN a North Atlantic right whale!); what more can a biologist ask for!
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I was given the amazing opportunity to head into the field and get my feet wet this past spring. Our lab has an ongoing collaboration with The Dominica Sperm Whale Project (DSWP), which was founded by Dr. Shane Gero when he was a Master's student with Hal. Now in its 14th year, the DSWP has greatly increased our knowledge of the behavior, acoustics, social structure, genetics, and foraging of the Eastern Caribbean sperm whales. I absolutely loved my time in Dominica, and was especially thrilled that I got to upgrade from a rainy, cold Nova Scotian spring to a Caribbean summer. Our average day on the water looked something like this: 6:30 - Rise and shine! Get ready for the day and gather all of the field gear. 7:15 - Be on the dock and ready to board our research vessel, Flying Fish (and later Skipjack, after Flying Fish needed repairs), for the day. 7:30 - Start our regular rectangular transect on the leeward side of the island. Periodically conduct "hydrophones stations," where we drop a pickle hydrophone overboard and listen for sperm whale echolocation. 8:00 - Hear sperm whales! On a good day, we would hear sperm whales at our very first hydrophone station; on a bad day, we could go the whole day without seeing or hearing anything. Once we detected sperm whales on the pickle hydrophone, we would drop a directional hydrophone and start tracking the whales. 8:30 - 5:30 - Track groups of sperm whales and collect photographs, acoustic recordings, skin samples, and fecal samples at each surfacing. This field season was extra busy, as the DSWP started a drone study and also hosted multiple photographers and authors. No two days were the same! 5:30 - Head back into shore. Drive up to the field house and start entering data and cooking dinner. 6:30 - 10:00 - Eat dinner, catch up on emails, play cards with the field crew, and fall asleep within minutes. I am so lucky to have been part of this amazing field team. Some of the acoustic data we collected will directly contribute to my doctoral research as well! |