Group 6 Copy 108
0

Conservation Behavior: Dolphins and Fish Traps

Conservation Behavior is a relatively new and emerging cross-discipline that focuses on the importance of understanding animal behavior when developing conservation strategies for free-ranging wildlife. This type of research is essential to marine mammal populations inhabiting coastal areas that are significantly impacted by human development, fishing, and/or tourism. For example, bottlenose dolphins in Belize share their habitat with cruise ship tourism, eco-tourism, domestic & international development, and recreational & traditional fisheries. Many traditional fishermen use fish traps, like the one pictured above - which are placed in the shallow Belize Barrier Reef Lagoon Flat between the reef and the Drowned Cayes. It is not unusual to find a dolphin "working a trap" in our study area. The dolphin focuses echolocation clicks and whistles on fish in the trap, bump and roll the trap, and voila! sometimes a fish finds its way out of the trap....only to be gobbled up by the dolphin. Can you imagine how these local trap fishermen might not care about dolphin conservation?

0 comments

Join the conversation!Sign In

About This Project

Has increased tourism in Belize impacted the dolphin population? In the late 1990s, Self-Sullivan and her peers determined that mangrove cayes provided foraging and nursery habitat for dolphins and manatees in Belize. It was predicted that increasing cruise ship tourism would have negative effects on the dolphin population. With your help, we will test that hypothesis and determine changes in the population structure, habitat use, and behavior.

Blast off!

Browse Other Projects on Experiment

Related Projects

Wormfree World - Finding New Cures

Hookworms affect the lives of more than 400,000,000 men, women and children around the world. The most effective...

Viral Causes of Lung Cancer

We have special access to blood specimens collected from more than 9,000 cancer free people. These individuals...

Cannibalism in Giant Tyrannosaurs

This is the key question we hope to answer with this study. This project is to fund research into a skull...

Backer Badge Funded

A biology project funded by 35 people

Add a comment