Research
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Research has become an
important part of the Wild Dolphin Program at Bill & Nowdla Keefe’s
Wild Dolphin Adventures. This past summer marked the 4th
consecutive season of an on-going cooperative project between The Keefe’s and The
Dolphin Communication Project (DCP) headed up by Kathleen Dudzinski.
Each summer, Bimini
Undersea provides space aboard their Wild Dolphin vessels to volunteer / student
researchers from the DCP. The DCP researchers have been videotaping
and photographing the resident Spotted Dolphins in an effort to ID
members of the pod and to track their growth and development.
In the year 2001 the
research was conducted by Xenia Brobeil. In 2002, TJ & Susan McCue
headed up the project. In 2003, Kelly
Melillo (Connecticut College) and Katherine
DeStefano (Northeastern University) took over the reigns. This year Kelly
returns with Darcie will be returning to Bimini and Bimini Undersea for the 2007
season.
The Dolphin
Communication Project was first
organized by world famous Dolphin Researcher Kathleen
Dudzinski. Kathleen’s work was the subject of the IMAX
movie Dolphins.
Much of which was shot on location right here in and around Bimini.
Kathleen met Nowdla and Bill during the filming of the movie when Bill and other
members of the Bimini Undersea Crew were hired by the filmmakers to work with
the Wild Dolphins in the area. Shortly after the release of the film, Kathleen,
Nowdla, and Bill worked together to get the Bimini project off the ground.
The Dolphin
Communication Project is now headquartered at the Mystic
Aquarium & Institute for Exploration located in Mystic Connecticut.
Ms. Dudzinski is “Researcher in Residence” at the Institute along
with other notables such as world renown ocean explorer Robert Ballard
(Titanic).
The relationship between
Bill & Nowdla Keefe, Bimini Undersea, and the Dolphin Communication Project
represents the only, on-going, Dolphin Research Program facilitated between a
research group (DCP) and private enterprise (Bimini Undersea) in all
the Bahamas. “ We’re all very proud of the work that’s been done by DCP
over the last 4 years and we’re privileged to be able to help them in any way
we can” said Bill Keefe. “This project is on-going an we look forward to
working with the DCP for years to come”.
If you’d like more
information on the DCP and their Bimini project, you can visit their web site at
www.dolphincommunicationproject.org
You can also read their on-line newsletter, The Dolphin Gazette, at www.dolphincommunicationproject.org/newsletter
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