On the Expedition
Follow whales and dolphins through the deep channels and across the shallow shoals of Bahamian islands to monitor their behavior and help protect them.
Help scientists Diane Claridge and Charlotte Dunn gather critical data about marine mammal populations and their habitats in the coastal areas of the Bahamian archipelago. You’ll divide your project time between being on the water in a small observation boat and working in the lab. On board, you’ll search the dazzling waters for signs of whales and dolphins, and take photos and record location and behavioral data when you spot them. Ashore, you’ll enter data and help match photographs to images in the database of known individual animals. In your recreational time, you can enjoy a long stretch of perfect beach for snorkeling, bird watching, and swimming. Your team may also take an excursion to surrounding national parks or enjoy sea kayaking using the project's fleet of kayaks. Summer teams may also choose to assist with the Sandy Point Environmental Camp, a local environmental education and outreach program for youth.
Meals and Accommodations
A large beach house in Sandy Point on Abaco Island hosts both the research lab and volunteer headquarters. The house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living area, and an office. Some team members and project staff can choose to camp in tents on the beach or stay in a second beach house nearby. The research vessels are moored right in front of the house for a nice daily commute to the field. Volunteers and project staff share cooking and cleaning duties, with a menu consisting of fresh seafood and local produce, as well as cereals, breads, lunch meats, and other locally available foods.
About the Research Area
The Bahamian island chain begins only 80.5 kilometers from the 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.