Chesapeake Bay Foundation Islands Field Senior Manager Jeff Varnon captured this close-up of dolphins swimming close to a boat on the Bay. As defined by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), there are at least two, maybe three populations (stocks) of dolphins that might visit the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries: the Northern Migratory Stock, the Southern Migratory Stock, and possibly the South Carolina-Georgia Coastal Stock. Scientists say dolphins used to visit the bay more frequently. One possible way is through what is called synchronous breathing (Fig. While the PCDP research is broadly concerned with better understanding all aspects of these animal's biology, we are focusing our initial efforts on a few key areas. Map of dolphin sightings from 2015 (left, blue dolphin symbols represent a dolphin sightings) and shipping traffic from 2013–2014 (right, colors reflect a heat map, from green to red, of shipping traffic). “Lots of dolphin sighting by the Bay Bridge,” according to UMCES. Thus, if a dolphin is particularly synchronous, it may be at greater risk of both spreading and contracting a morbillivirus-like disease (e.g., the dolphin in Fig. It researches the dolphin’s … Some dolphins may venture as far north as Baltimore Harbor, the Chester River and Washington, D.C. Since a Chesapeake Dolphin Watch website launched at the end of June, 1,200 people have signed up and reported more than 500 dolphin sightings, often of 10 or more of the mammals at once. Procyon lotor White-tail Deer. West Indian Manatee. Ann-Marie Jacoby is the Associate Director of the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, a PhD student at Duke University, and a National Geographic Young Explorer.She is interested in better understanding which bottlenose dolphin populations use the Potomac-Chesapeake area, as well as their temporal and geographic distribution in the Potomac to develop more effective management. Welcome to the US Navy's Marine Species Monitoring Program website. Related News Follow shark catchers (and their prey) online It quickly became so popular that the existing staff couldn’t validate the sightings being reported. Visits the Chesapeake Bay in summer, and is most often seen in the lower Chesapeake Bay near Cape Charles and the James and Elizabeth rivers. The PCDP aims to better understand and protect the bottlenose dolphins of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. The Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project contributes and compares data and images of dorsal fins with other scientists up and down the Atlantic Seaboard through a central database of dorsal fin images (OBIS-SEAMAP). Dolphin sightings are becoming more frequent in the Bay and its major tributaries. Now researchers in Maryland and Virginia are undertaking the first comprehensive studies of bottlenose dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay. Circles represent individual dolphins with the colored circles representing the two individuals (blue, red) for which networks were constructed. What we found was quite surprising! Dolphins might be more common and wide-ranging in the Chesapeake Bay than once thought, if recent reports from citizen spotters are any indication. The DolphinWatchappwas launched by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciencein 2017 to provide a way to report sightings — and gather data — of dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay. By 2018, we have nearly 1000 individuals documented in the Potomac River. “We see quite a few more dolphins than we do in Shark Bay, let’s say, for an hour’s worth of research,” said Patterson at NOAA. STATUS Protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 identifies humans as their greatest threat and prevents any resulting future depletion. A little fixer-upper opportunity. Phoca vitulina. In 2015 (July – October) the PCDP began collecting initial data on the location and number of dolphins in an ~37 square km area near the mouth of the Potomac River. This website serves as an online portal for information on the background, history, and progress of the program, as well as provides access to reports, documentation, data, and updates on current monitoring projects. Figure 2. Following a dolphin die-off in the Bay caused by a virus outbreak, Mann and her research team launched the first-ever formal study of the local population in 2015. Using network modeling techniques, we plan to investigate both transmission mechanism and compare simulated outbreaks to actual stranding data in order to elucidate the most likely mechanism of transmission. They feed on a variety of prey, including fish and squid. Odocoileus virginianus But as pollution degraded the … commonly hunt in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. See where they've been spotted & report your own sightings with @DolphinWatch_CB https://t.co/eQFqoaFDOl pic.twitter.com/8O2ADfgr3T. It’s usually be bottlenose dolphins, which can be 300-1,200 pounds  and 9 to 12 feet in length when they’re adults. All rights reserved. In fact, humans are affected by a type of morbillivirus, better known as the measles. Chesapeake Bay map of dolphins reported, maintainly in the central and lower bay. Map; Updates; My Sightings; My Account; Info; Donate; Viewing Tips DOLPHIN R ESEARCH C ENTER, 58901 Overseas Hwy, Grassy Key, FL 33050 (305) 289 -1121 www.dolphins.org Grade Level: 6th-8 th Objectives: Students will be able to identify human causes of environmental degradation in DolphinWatch was launched the beginning of July and they’re looking for reports on DolphinWatch.org and photos for their Instagram and Facebook accounts. The information collected through Chesapeake Dolphin Watch will help scientists decide where to place more microphones. “When, where and why do they visit the Bay? But as pollution degraded the Chesapeake’s water quality through the 20th century, they became more rare. Fun. Virginia’s Hidden (Chesapeake Bay) Beaches, Rock Hall -> Eastern Neck Island: Overview, St. Michaels -> Neavitt Landing Bike Route: Overview. Raccoon. Mann, vice provost for research and a professor in the biology and psychology departments, and Eric Patterson, an assistant research professor of biology, are co-directing the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, designed to better understand and protect the bottlenose dolphins of the Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay. The suspected cause of this mortality event is a type of morbillivirus, a genus of viruses that affects a variety of animals worldwide. PHOTO BY JEFF VARNON Dolphins will come in … We need your help to find out!”. Figure 3. Two of the most basic pieces of information needed about any wild animal population is: how many of them are there and where are they? It is thought that during such events dolphins may exchange infectious respiratory droplets. We found dolphins in most of Chesapeake Bay In 2017 and 2018 dolphin sightings were seasonally stratified in Chesapeake Bay, meaning that dolphins were seen in different portions of the bay in different months. Two bottlenose dolphins in the Potomac River, surfacing in almost perfect synchrony. With the dolphins identified, scientists can determine where the dolphins are coming from and going to. Marine Species Monitoring. Association (A & C) and synchrony (B & D) networks for two bottlenose dolphins (data taken from the Shark Bay Dolphin Research Project for illustrative purposes). People can learn more about dolphins in the Potomac-Chesapeake area by visiting the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project’s website or by contacting us at pcdolphinproject@gmail.com. A website version of our dolphin tracker is available at: chesapeakedolphinwatch.org. Published reports of sightings date back into the 1800s. While bottlenose dolphins are a well-studied species, there is much to learn about their presence in the Chesapeake Bay. Dolphins have spotted in more than 170 locations, in big and small pods (groups). Figure 4. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Dolphins were reported in the Lower Bay nearly year-round. Join us as she shares where and when dolphins are being sighted and … 3), when two or more dolphins surface and breathe at the same time in close proximity to each other. Lines indicate connections based on either associations or synchronous breathing and the thickness of the lines indicates the strength of the connections. That effort grew into the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, which today surveys the social and super-smart mammals from May through October in about 14 square miles of the Potomac. While these seems like fairly straightforward questions, for migratory animals, coming up with the answers is quite difficult. UMCES is also looking for money to maintain the new database and $2,000 to buy a device to listen for dolphin sounds. Ongoing research by the Potomac-Cheseapeake Dolphin Project—the first of … Published reports of sightings date back into the 1800s. (Kim Hairston / … Figure 1. What Bay Crabs Used to Look Like — A Huge 9-inch Blue Crab. Dr. Helen Bailey and her team at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science  think dolphin numbers are up in the bay, but they want to be scientific about it. © 2017 Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project. Another major aim of the PCDP is to understand the population structure of the Potomac-Chesapeake bottlenose dolphins. Toggle navigation. The PCDP was established in 2015 by Professor Janet Mann of Georgetown University. Bottlenose Dolphin. DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER Who Polluted the Bay? A Vampire Movie Made in Annapolis. Horrors! Doing so will help us better understand what population(s) of dolphins are visiting the Chesapeake Bay region, where they go during the winter (bottlenose dolphins are usually only found in the Chesapeake Bay area during warmer months), and how they fit into the greater Atlantic bottlenose dolphins population structures. View my sightings. The Chesapeake Bay has dolphins swimming through even during years when times were tough for crabs and oysters. In just 14 days on the water and ~73 hours of observation we identified 193 unique individuals, including 27 mother-calf pairs, 2 additional suspected adult females, 53 suspected adult males, and several juvenile dolphins of unknown sex. This tracker includes the ability to view the locations of recent and past dolphin sightings on a map and provides information about dolphins and the Chesapeake Bay. Tursiops truncatus. Coastal bottlenose dolphins populations (stocks) according to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Indeed, dolphin sights have been abundant this summer, according to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Chesapeake Biological Lab’s Chesapeake DolphinWatch program. To report a dolphin sighting, go to the Dolphin Watch website. S Water quality through the 20th century, they became more rare a Bay! 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