Happy New Year ECS-Talk readers. My apologies for cross-posting.
Registration for the following class is now open to non-enrolled students.
So, if you have been looking for a field course for general enrichment,
are getting ready to return to school or are a recent graduate, please
consider signing up today!
GET OUT OF THE CLASSROOM....AND GET INTO THE FIELD!
Looking for an exciting, hands-on summer course? The Dolphin Communication
Project (DCP), in conjunction with Georgetown College, is pleased to offer
a FIELD COURSE IN ETHOLOGICAL STUDIES – MARINE & TERRESTRIAL. The field
portions of this course will take place in Bimini, Bahamas and Nassau,
Bahamas.
Full Course Dates: 20 May – 11 June, 2012
Field Dates: 20 – 31 May 2012
Course description and objectives:
Students will be introduced to the study of animal behavior using a
combination of lectures, readings, discussion, and research with both a
wild dolphin group and a captive dolphin population. Lectures will focus
on understanding animal behavior from an ecological and evolutionary
perspective. Readings and discussion will focus on current research and
methodology. Fieldwork will provide students an introduction to the skills
necessary to conduct animal behavior research and to demonstrate these
skills by participating in independent research with senior scientists at
the field location.
Class Format:
Non-field portions of this course will be completed remotely, via the free
Internet communication program, Skype. Exact dates and times are to be
determined. The field portion will take place at two sites and attendance
at all lectures, activities, and training sessions is mandatory. The
format of the classroom meetings will be discussion-oriented. Questions
and class participation are strongly encouraged. Training sessions (at
Dolphin Encounters) and research hours are also mandatory, for the safety
of the student and the animals.
Cost: $2,450 per person (USD)
Included:
Air transportation between Fort Lauderdale, FL and field sites
10 nights’ accommodation (double or higher occupancy)
3 meals a day (one group meal out in Nassau not included; optional meal
out in Bimini not included)
4 half-day boat trips in search of dolphins (weather dependent)
Gratuity for boat, dock and hotel staff in Bimini
Transportation to and entry into Dolphin Encounters
Airport/Hotel transportation in Bimini and Nassau
Course instruction by Drs. Kathleen Dudzinski (DCP) and Rebecca Singer
(Georgetown College)
Certificate of completion (upon request)
Not included: Airfare to/from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
You must be at least 18 years old and fluent in English to participate. US
citizens are required to have a valid passport for entry into The Bahamas
(a birth certificate is not sufficient). Students of other citizenship
should confirm entry requirements. Students currently enrolled in a
degree-seeking program are given first-priority. Registration for
non-matriculated students will open, space available, 1 January 2012.
No previous experience with marine mammals or marine biology is required,
however, all participants should be comfortable on a boat, snorkeling and
working as a team.
Course may be used for general enrichment or course credit; the student is
solely responsible for arranging credit with their home institution or
Georgetown College. Fees associated with course credit are not included in
the course fee.
This is your chance for a real life research experience with wild and
captive dolphins in the clear, warm waters of the Bahamas!
Come join us!
For more information on this course, visit
http://tinyurl.com/DCPAnimalBehavior.
If you have questions on this course, please contact DCP at [log in to unmask]
For more information on DCP, including a list of publications, please
visit www.dolphincommunicationproject.org.
A non-refundable deposit of 20% ($490) is due at the time of registration,
with full payment due by 28 February 2011. Deposits and payments are
currently being accepted at http://tinyurl.com/DCPAnimalBehavior. If you
prefer to pay by US check (small discount applies!), please contact us at
[log in to unmask]
The minimum enrollment is eight students, with a maximum of 14; so,
sign-up today!
_________________________________________________________________________
The Dolphin Communication Project (DCP) is focused on the dual goals of
scientific research and education: we take results from research projects
and disseminate them into educational programs for students of all ages.
DCP has a team of researchers (graduated professionals, graduate students,
undergraduate interns and volunteers) who work together to examine how
dolphins communicate in order to shed more light on the meaning of the
interactions between individuals and groups. We have 3 active field sites
that include wild and captive dolphins of 3 species. DCP collaborates with
vessel operators from Bimini and Dolphin Encounters to study dolphins
ranging in age from a few months to more than 30 years old. Below, please
find a selected list of DCP’s peer-reviewed publications. For a full list
of our publications, please visit www.dolphincommunicationproject.org.
Dudzinski, K.M., Clark, C.W., Würsig, B. 1995. A mobile video/acoustic
system for simultaneously recording dolphin behavior and vocalizations
underwater. Aquatic Mammals 21(3): 187-193.
Dudzinski, K.M. 1998. Contact behavior and signal exchange among Atlantic
spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). Aquatic Mammals 24(3): 129-142.
Paulos, R.D., Dudzinski, K.M., Kuczaj, S.A. 2008. The role of touch in
select social interactions of Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella
frontalis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus).
Ethology 26: 153-164.
Dudzinski, KM, Gregg, JD, Ribic, CA, Kuczaj, SA. 2009. Flipper’s flipper –
a comparison of how, where and why spotted and bottlenose dolphins use
their pectoral fins to touch peers. Behavioural Processes 80: 182-190.
Melillo, K.E., Dudzinski, K.M., Cornick, L.A. 2009. Interactions between
Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus)
dolphins off Bimini, The Bahamas, 2003-2007. Aquatic Mammals, 35:281-291
Dudzinski, KM. 2010. Overlap between information gained from complimentary
and comparative studies of captive and wild dolphin communication.
International Journal of Comparative Psychology 23(4): 566-586.
Dudzinski, K.M., Gregg, J.D., Paulos, R.D., Kuczaj, S.A. 2010. A
comparison of pectoral fin contact behaviour for three distinct dolphin
populations. Behavioural Processes, 84:559–567.
Greene, W., Melillo-Sweeting, K., Dudzinski, K. 2011. Comparing object
play in captive and wild dolphins. International Journal of Comparative
Psychology 24(3):292-306.
Dudzinski, KM, Gregg, JD, Melillo-Sweeting, K, Levengood, A, Seay, B.,
Kuczaj II, SA. 2011. Tactile contact exchanges between dolphins:
self-rubbing versus inter-individual contact in three species from three
geographies. International Journal of Comparative Psychology – Special
Symposium Issue (In Press)
______________________________
Kelly Melillo Sweeting
Bimini Research Manager
Dolphin Communication Project
www.dolphincommunicationproject.org
_________________________________________________________________________
Homepage www.jiscmail.ac.uk/ECS-TALK
How to join/leave the ECS-TALK list, how to obtain a Listserv Password,
how to post a message to the list, what to do when going on Holiday?
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm gives the answers to
these and more questions!
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