Dolphins of Greece volunteers, 25 April-2 May 2011

The expedition was everything promoted in the literature and more.  The research is for real and Joan willingly shares his vast knowledge of dolphins.  His enthusiasm for his studies is contagious and by the end of our first outing all participants were won over and eager to share in gathering and processing the data gathered.  Dolphins really are magical beings and seem to exude delight and optimism. Joan runs his expeditions with a perfect balance between making every effort to see that the members enjoy themselves, experience genuine Greek culture, and become more aware of the challenges facing humankind if we wish to see the world’s oceans restored to robust health.

The outings are the centrepiece of the expedition and once at sea, Joan is all business, as any serious researcher should be.  His expectations of the participants are necessarily high, but achievable, since he is seeking clear and accurate information.   We all came away knowing we had made genuine contributions to Joan’s work. Vonitsa itself is a quiet and authentic small Greek town with many nice cafes and bars where you can enjoy a coffee after an outing or something more in the early evening.

Robert (USA)

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This has been a great opportunity to meet new people and spend a week learning about dolphins, fishing, the ecology of oceans, and play a small role in research I would otherwise never have known existed. The dolphin sighting expeditions are far more engaging (and challenging) than any dolphin watching tour. Just going out to look at dolphins would get pretty boring after the second day, but actively scouting, keeping track of different groups, closely watching behaviour, and hearing Joan’s commentary makes each sighting a unique experience. Joan’s passion and knowledge make his lectures and spontaneous Q&A’s enjoyable and more educational than I had expected. Being in the middle of a region struggling with the effects of overfishing and spending time with people who are deeply about that and other ecological/environmental dangers the ocean is facing really does make these issues feel real, important, and solvable. 


I also enjoyed the small group of volunteers. It’s a good way to meet people with a wide variety of backgrounds and a common sense of adventure and interest in environmental and scientific issues. The organization of living quarters, research duties, and meals are well designed to promote a lot of interaction and let people get to know each other. Having volunteers prepare their own dinners in turn is especially enjoyable. 


And lastly the town of Vonitsa and nearby towns are terrific places to spend some quiet time. By coincidence we happened to be here for the festival celebrating the first of May and walked out to the island to watch the dancing and horse “riding”. Without hesitation they shared a large portion of one of their freshly prepared lambs, and we had an excellent lunch.

Rob (USA)

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We walked down to the harbour past orange and lemon trees, past cats waiting hopefully next to a fishing boat.  Vonitsa was sleepy, with a few people drinking coffees and smoking in the seafront bars.  Only the swifts moved quickly, manoeuvring a few inches above the ground or sea to catch insects. 


Out on the sea, everything changed.  We made a sighting thanks to a group of gulls, circling and diving over a group of feeding dolphins.  The water boiled, fins surfaced and flukes thrashed.  Several dolphins were working together to circle and confuse the fish, then feed on them.  The seagulls also took a share, and helped us work out where to look for the next leaping dolphin… two to our right, three straight ahead, one to the left and a few behind us… we were surrounded!  We tried to watch all the action, but inevitably could only see a fraction of what was going on because it happened so quickly.  Gradually the dolphins dispersed, leaving the sea calm again. 


During the week, we were lucky enough to watch dolphins feeding several times, as well as seeing them resting, socialising and travelling together in a group, and we even had one bow ride our boat briefly.  It was a great experience not only to observe them in their natural habitat, but also to learn about them and to take part in research which will help ensure they survive and thrive. 

Roz (UK)

Back on track!

Dolphins of Greece expedition is back on track! Today we carried out our first survey in the Amvrakikos Gulf. The conditions were perfect; a beautiful sunny day, perfect sea state conditions... but wait... something was missing... onboard we were only two!, myself and Miriam (our new research assistant from Barcelona). Unfortunately, for the first team of the present research season we had no volunteers. Since we have a minimum effort coverage to do per month and there are not so many days left of April, we were forced to go out anyway to make sure that our data was consistent with previous years. It would have been much better to have more observers (earthwachers) onboard, but despite the reduced crew number we managed to collect useful data.

I personally could not wish a better start. We were for close to two hours with a group of 7 adult bottlenose dolphins, which spent most of their time feeding at the surface on a school of sardines, permanently surrounded by a large flock of seagulls that were diving around the dolphins as "Kamikazees" to catch their valuable prey. An old friend was there leading the group; MAX, a well-known dolphin which I named after my youngest nephew ;-), identified for the first time back in 2001. It felt good to be back on track after the Winter's break. Let's hope that no more teams have to be cancelled because of low volunteer recruitment and that from now on we will be able of sharing this amazing experience and much more with all of you.

This is the first post of year 2011. From now on "Dolphins in a bottle" will be bringing you news and experiences from Earthwatch's Dolphins of Greece expedition. Do not forget to check it out regularly for the latest updates. And remember, we need you! so if you are considering to join our project, do not think twice, your can make the difference!

joAn

A sighting, which was different from others

Back in 2007, I remember coming to the Amvrakikos Gulf with no previous experience. Thanks to the several months spent in the field, I am now more adept, but I still have to learn how to stand up on my own after a fall. While working in different study areas with my colleagues, I’ve got many chances of broadening my skills. Advise from my teachers Giovanni, Stefano and Joan allowed me to improve myself, but then the time arrives when one must fly away from the nest.

This time arrived earlier than I thought when Joan asked me to run a boat survey on my own. I felt fortunate to finally get such a nice opportunity and although my knees were shaking a bit, I felt joy.

On that morning, the Amvrakikos Gulf was completely flat so the circumstances were ideal. I decided to head towards the northwestern part of the Gulf. Everyone on board was eagerly scanning the sea surface until… out at 11! When the dolphins surfaced in the distance, my heart started to beat fiercely. But as we got closer I had become more focused on my several tasks, and oblivious of my initial excitement.

When I realized that there was a calf in the group, a smile appeared on my face. It is always a nice moment to see a tiny life following her mother with its clumsy surfacings. The dolphins, including the mother-calf pair, approached a fish farm. This was unexpected, because calves normally do not get close to the cages. At that moment, I realised that I wasn’t just an observer but I could understand what was going on and share this knowledge with my group of volunteers.

It was amazing to see things from another perspective compared to the sightings when I was acting as a research assistant, and someone else was in charge. Things that only a year ago appeared so overwhelmingly difficult, like driving the boat, taking good photos, recording the behaviour and directing people on board, all at once, now unfolded smoothly, and this gave me even more confidence and pleasure.

I still have a lot to learn in this field, but at least I could enjoy the feeling of being a leader for one day and experiencing how it feels to be responsible for a group of people on board, for all the data collection and for Joan’s ‘baby’, the inflatable.

In the end, everybody survived the first sighting with me. One volunteer, Jane, had a particularly good experience and her feelings came to surface after we moored the boat, back at the port, when I saw tears of joy in her eyes. Guys - it was a great experience for me, too! Thank you for being such a good team!

Zsuzsanna Pereszlényi

Susie in regalia

Tethys collaborator Zsuzsanna Pereszlényi received her MSc in Biology during an official cerimony at the University of Pécs, Hungary, after having also passed a most challenging State Exam.

Susie graduated with a thesis titled "Feeding behaviour of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece".

GB

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Photo: Susie in regalia at her MSc cerimony

Earthwatchers in the field

Our second team of volunteers is about to end and tomorrow will be our last day at sea. This time our team relied on the participation of two members of the Earthwatch Institute, who have been given the opportunity of seeing how things work in the field.

Emma, from the Engagement Department, working with several corporate partners and giving support to staff throughout their fielding process, and Debbie, working at the Research Department on the developing of the Oceans research programme.

It is always good to get a chance to spend time with our Earthwatch colleagues and get to know them more personally, since our communication occurs mostly through e-mail.

They both have shown great interest in our research and have worked very hard both onboard and at the field station, where they have dedicated extensive time to identifying dolphins spotted during the morning. Great work girls!

It wouldn't be fair not to also mention Elah, our third volunteer this week. She has put as much dedication as our Earthwatchers and luckily enough she will stay here during the next team, too.

Those of you are willing to hear their version of the experience at the Dolphins of Greece expedition will have to wait until tomorrow!

joAn

It feels good meeting old friends

On board, Jill, Michael, Richard and Mark (Earthwatch volunteers), Aina (our Catalan research assistant participating in the project in the context of her MSc thesis) and myself. Two days at sea and we had our first two sightings of the year.

In both cases, the dolphins were found after less than half an hour of navigation. Yesterday our survey was briefly interrupted by an encounter with two dalmatian pelicans. The first dolphin to appear at the horizon was “Helikas”, a highly marked adult with a big notch behind his dorsal fin, probably the result of an unfortunate encounter with a speedboat. As we approached him another two dolphins joined performing a series of leaps. Again, these were well known to us because of the distinctive marks on their dorsal fins, “Koboloi” and “Max”. It feels good to meet these good old friends again.

One of our enthusiast volunteers, Mark Worrall, is participating in the project in the context of Earthwatch’s Life From The Field Programme. I will now switch keyboard with him.

joAn

I am a participant of an Earthwatch fellowship grant funded by the generous support of the Kelly family from Massachusetts. I am an eight-grade Earth Science teacher at Pentucket Middle School in West Newbury, Ma, USA. It is an honor and privilege to be studying these amazing animals in Greece. To observe these animals breaching and feeding in the wild is an awe-inspiring experience that I get to share with my students. I hope to contribute to the preservation of these animals and their habitat.

Mark

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Visit Mark’s blog

Dolphins in a Bottle