Conservation Behavior: Dolphins and Fish Traps
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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?
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