CSUF lecturer tracks dolphins in Newport Harbor
Cal State Fullerton psychology lecturer, Kayla Causey and her students study the behavior of dolphins in Newport Harbor. The research group identifies the dolphins by their dorsal fin located on their back.
COURTESY OF MICHELLE SMITH
With cameras, life vests and sandwiches packed inside a 14-foot inflatable boat, Cal State Fullerton psychology lecturer Kayla Causey and her students spend 36 hours a week studying the behavior of dolphins in Newport Harbor.
"When you spot dolphins, you are viewing them from a perspective so different than anything you've seen before," said Cynthia Lujan, CSUF student research assistant. "You can literally feel like you are a part of the marine mammals rushing by. You can hear them, feel the splash from their jumps, see them play."
This study on the activity of Pacific Coast common bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncates, is part of the Coastal Dolphins of Orange County Project that Causey started in 2011.
The cohort research group also studies long- and short-beaked common dolphins, Delphinus capensis and Delphinus delphis, because of their high population in the harbors, said Causey.
"People have been noting that dolphins are going into harbors for years but no one has actually done measurements of how frequently they are doing that," said Causey. "We found that in the first year (of study) our sighting rate was highest in the winter and dropped off significantly in the other seasons."
Newport Landing Whale Watching has recorded 2,971 sightings of bottlenose dolphins to date for 2013. Late last month, there were 15 sightings of bottlenose dolphins in one day.
During the first year of research, Causey and her students noticed that there were more visual sightings of dolphins during the winter months. It is possible that the dolphins don't like the increased level of noise and traffic during the spring and summer. This year, the research group is studying the relationship between boat traffic, noise and dolphin distribution, she said.
To evaluate these factors and determine the frequency of dolphins entering Newport Harbor, Causey and her students exercise a number of methods.
First, photos are taken of the dolphins they spot from the boat and shore and these are logged into an identification catalog.
Each dolphin is given an identification number to track whether the same dolphin is returning to the harbor on repeated occasions. Some dolphins are named based on their characteristics or the uniqueness of their dorsal fin.
"The dorsal fin is the fin that is on their back and it's just like cartilage; it gets nicked and notched and torn and tattered and each dolphin has its own 'thumbprint' on its dorsal fin that is a unique pattern," said Causey. "We have Gnarly, we have Halloween and her calf Boo; I have one that I call Bottle Opener."
Second, using an underwater microphone, Causey records acoustic samples of the whistles and noises the dolphins make and documents how the sounds differ through various times of the year.
Causey and her students also count the boats entering and exiting the harbor.
According Orange County Sherriff's Department Harbor Patrol Sergeant, David Ginther, Newport Harbor is home to approximately 10,000 boats.
Spencer Wernett, CSU Stanislaus student researcher who works with Causey, categorizes the counted boats into different groups, such as fishing, recreation and sail, he said.
Underwater footage of the dolphins, water temperature, time intervals that dolphins are spotted, environmental conditions and the dolphins' location, direction of travel and behavior are also noted, said Lujan.
So why study dolphins?
Monitoring dolphins is a way to understand human nature and high intellectual properties based on the similarities between dolphins and humans, Causey said. In terms of cognitive capacities, dolphins are intelligent in a way that is used to describe humans, primates or other smart species, she said.
"They have sophisticated communication, they are really good at problem solving, they are flexible in terms of their behavior, they are capable of self-recognition and self-awareness," said Causey. "Only a few animals are able to recognize themselves in the mirror, and dolphins are one of those."
Dolphins are also sensible species, said Causey. If something is going wrong in the ocean or harbors, the problem can be seen in dolphins before it is seen in other organisms because they are large mammals and are predators at the top of the food chain, she said.
For more information on the project, visit cdocproject.org