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| Dolphins and Whales of Abaco Island |
| Explore the deep channels and shallow shoals of Bahamian islands to track and observe whales and dolphins. |
     
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On The Expedition You can help scientists Diane Claridge and Charlotte Dunn gather information about residence patterns and populations of various marine mammals in the coastal areas in and among the archipelago's islands and cays. You will spend some of your time on a small boat, searching the waters for signs of whales and dolphins, and recording information when you find them. You will also spend some time in the project's lab, where you will enter data and help match photographs to images in the catalogue of known individuals. In your recreational time, the long stretch of beach beckons for snorkeling, bird watching, and swimming. Your team may take field trips to surrounding national parks or enjoy sea kayaking using the project's fleet of kayaks. Summer teams may also opt to assist with the Sandy Point Environmental Camp, a local outreach program. Meals and Accommodations A large beach house in Sandy Point, Abaco Island, houses the research lab and volunteer headquarters. The house contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, living area, and an office. Some team members and project staff may camp in tents on the beach or stay in a second beach house. The research vessels are moored right in front of the house for a nice daily commute. Volunteers and project staff share cooking and cleaning duties, and the menu consists of fresh seafood and local produce, as well as cereals, breads, lunch meats, and other locally available foods. More Information Don't forget to check out our Teen Teams! 
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Research Summary Great Abaco Island, Bahamas — On the outer islands of the Bahamas, traditional Bahamian life goes on far from the clutter and noise of the tourist trade. The Abaco archipelago includes two larger islands and several small cays and sandbars, some of which just make it above the waves. Below the surface of the turquoise waters run deep channels and gullies, where the elusive deep-diving Blainsville's beaked whales spend their time. Along the shallow shoals and in coastal waters swim resident populations of coastal bottlenose dolphins. Gathering information on abundance, distribution, and seasonality of the marine mammals in the area will help establish a conservation and management plan for the region, as well as help mitigate the effects of military sonar on vulnerable deep-diving whales. Meet the Scientists  Diane Claridge Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation  Charlotte Dunn Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation |
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About the Research Area The Bahamian island chain lies only 80.5 kilometers off the east coast of Florida but extends 1,126.5 kilometers to the southeast. The islands and shallow banks are made up of limestone or calcium carbonate deposited over millennia, estimated to be at least 5.6 kilometers deep. Extremely deep canyons, such as the Great Bahama Canyon off the southwest coast of Abaco Island, divide the shallow banks. As a result, the area offers an amazing variety of inshore and oceanic habitat readily accessible to research from shore-based stations. The animals and plants living on the Bahamas are of West Indian origin, having crossed the channels dividing the archipelago from the southern Antillean islands when sea levels were lower. Nearly 2,000 species of plants have been identified (10% endemic), which were brought onto the islands by birds or, in the case of salt tolerant species, drifted ashore. It has been more difficult for land mammals to colonize the islands, with the exception of bats, which are represented by 19 different species. Only one land mammal successfully established a colony in the Bahamas: the Bahama hutia, a nocturnal rodent that looks like a black guinea pig. Although hutia were once distributed throughout the islands, they are now found on only a few islands in the central and southern Bahamas. There have been recent but unconfirmed reports of hutia on Great Abaco Island. Other terrestrial mammals inhabiting the islands, all introduced by Europeans, include feral cats, wild boar and remnants of a herd of Spanish horses brought to the islands in the 1500s. Amphibians and reptiles were better able to survive the overseas journey and adapt to the Bahamian environment successfully, and they total more than 100 species and subspecies. These include many endemic subspecies, such as the rock iguanas and boa constrictors, with some populations restricted to only a single island or small cay. Find out more |
Fact Sheet
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Locations shown are approximate.
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