Jessica, Kevin, Allison, Megan

Overview Hypothesis Our Problem Intro Background Research Reason for Research Methods & Equipment Recap

The Big Question Do the foraging habits of Bottlenose Dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico change with the seasons?

“We think that the foraging behavior of bottlenose dolphins do change with the seasons in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Introduction Background Research Book: A Review of the Ecology, Behavior, and Life History of the Bottlenose Dolphin Information from: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Slidell, LA They studied Ecology, Behavior, and Life History in Gulf as well as other places Their findings are important to us to aid in our research

Reasons for Our Research The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s research is more general. Over a one year period, we’ll be studying foraging habits of bottlenose dolphin pods including: Location Duration Group vs. Individual Foraging Intake Prey Behavior (any specifics)

Methods and Materials

Materials Camera GPS Boat Computer Lab Pencil and paper for observations Binoculars

Location Gulf of Mexico Up to 50 miles off shore the coast of Galveston as well as the Bay side of Galveston

Methods Observations of at least 5 dolphins foraging each time going to a study site or during onshore observations Look at interactions among dolphins Look at time spent underwater Write down certain behaviors observed Record temperature, wind speed and clarity of water in each trip out

Methods Cont’d… Use survey method in order to follow dolphins approximately 30 minutes in duration No tracking (satellite or radio). Show different pods at different times Observing seasonal changes Example if different pods are present during different seasons If behavior changes during changing seasons. Continuous All occurrences in foraging

Method’s Cont’d… Use camera to take pictures of dolphins observed to see if same dolphins are present FINSCAN Program

Timeline Go out 12 different times and observe at least 5 dolphins foraging each trip out. Conduct 12 onshore observations using binoculars. All this occurs within one year, observing in different areas of the Gulf in order to not favor a certain section Once per month around the middle of the month Analysis occurring after all data is collected in a lab at Texas A and M University

Analysis Use excel to look at percentages and time spent underwater Percentages of time spent doing other certain behaviors during foraging Use information to try to observe patterns and see if same dolphins are present at different times of year use FINSCAN for photo identification

$50,000 Budget

Recap To Answer: Do Bottlenose Dolphin forage behavior change with the seasons? We need all the above listed, methods and materials. The problems we face Significance Can aid in future research done by us or others