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Bottlenose Dolphin Tracking in Belize |
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Program Number: |
3561RJ |
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| Start
and End Dates: |
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| Duration: |
9 nights |
| Location: |
Belize
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| Price starting at: |
$2,561.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city |
| Program Type:
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Service Learning
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Activity Level: |
t (see description) |
| Meals: |
22;
7 Breakfasts, 7 Lunches, 8 Dinners |
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| Meal
Options: |
Vegetarian; Low Salt |
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From the bow of the boat, smooth gray dolphins are so close you can almost touch them! For the rest of the afternoon, you observe the dolphin pod swimming and feeding between mangrove islands, seagrass beds and coral reefs. In association with the Oceanic Society, contribute to an ongoing study of Belize’s unique bottlenose dolphin population as you assist researchers documenting their ecological behavior. Observe patterns feeding, socializing and resting, and document their habitat use as part of an initiative to declare the atoll a biosphere reserve.
Highlights
• Special research permits allow volunteers to closely approach dolphins in order to obtain identification photos and biological data.
• Identify individual bottlenose dolphins and witness dolphin activity over several days.
• Full day excursion day to Lighthouse Reef Atoll for snorkeling the rim of the famous Blue Hole, visiting a seabird sanctuary at Half Moon Caye.
Activity Particulars
Participants must be able to swim. All boats have a swim ladder and protection from the sun. Boarding and disembarking vessels requires some agility. This program primarily involves dolphin observation from small boats within the atoll. Under specific conditions including the behavior of the dolphins, weather conditions and sea conditions, the researcher will determine if it is appropriate for swimmers to enter the water in order to assist with determining the sex of individual dolphins.
Date Specific Information
2-24-2014, 3-17-2014
Participant must arrive in Belize City by 2:30pm in order to catch boat departing for the island.
Itinerary Summary
Arrivals Belize City, Blackbird Caye, 9 nights; departure Belize City.
Arrival Belize City | Boat to Blackbird Caye | 9 nights | Boat to Belize City for departure. |
English-speaking Belize boasts the world's second-largest barrier reef and unique habitats for marine wildlife. Blackbird Caye lies amid coral islets in pristine Turneffe Atoll. Working in small teams, you study the behavioral ecology of bottlenose dolphins, their habitat use, social behavior and foraging strategies. With biologists and researchers as daily guides, you and fellow volunteers contribute to the important study as you record behavior, collect acoustic sounds, identify individual animals and plot location. At the researcher's discretion, volunteers comfortable with snorkeling may enter the water to record underwater dolphin behavior or assist with habitat characterization. Lectures discuss dolphin biology, coral reef ecology and natural history of the cayes.
Belize
Before it was colonized as “British Honouras,” Belize flourished as a stronghold of the Maya civilization. Today, the country celebrates this unique heritage while sharing in Central American and Caribbean identities. Its tropical climate supports the country’s rich biodiversity, while its coastline along the Caribbean Sea offers access to the second-longest coral reef system in the world.
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Accommodations
Private island setting with beachfront cabanas, classroom with lab and dining palapa.
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