Gone Core Samplin'

As a result of the oil spill, the Cedar Key Dolphin Project has decided to collect soil samples from the Gulf's muddy bottom. We are collecting core samples in 27 sites to check for any contaminants. It is unlikely that there are contaminants in the soil already, but as Cedar Key will be Stefanie's permanent study site, she will be able to check in future years how the pollutant levels change. This mini-project, while fairly simple to do, will be extremely useful in monitoring contaminants that could potentially destroy the town's livelihood.


Collecting core sampling in Cedar Key water is difficult because of the murkiness. I was solely responsible for the loss of two cores because I simply lost sight of them underwater. The overall task of collecting a sample is less-than-pleasant. The water itself is (as I stated before) very murky, and it is at a whopping 95 degrees! Ew. It is not fun to be in water that is nearly the same temperature as your own body. It feels like you're swimming in spit! It is also very difficult to get footing in the muddy, mushy sea-bottom. I still feel, though, that I had the best deal of the three of us. I was responsible for all of the shallow cores, and Stefanie and Emily were responsible for the deep dives, since they are both diving certified. Apparently, diving in this water is a bit on the creepy side because it is so dark. It is hard to tell which way is up, down, left or right, but the water is at most 4 or 5 meters, so there is never a chance for real danger.

The best part of the core sampling day had nothing really to do with core sampling! As little nature lovers roaming the waters, we often stop and pick up any trash or leftover fishing gear in the water. On this day, we stopped to pick up a bobber, and to my surprise there was fishing line still attached. I pulled it in and pulled it in for quite a while (there was at least 100 ft of monofilament attached to this float) and just when I was starting to get impatient I felt the line pull back, away from the boat - something was still on the line! So I pulled harder, careful to not get cut by the line, and found that there was a shark at the other end! Just in time for shark week, hehe. We decided to pull it in to unhook it, but it broke free just as we were about to get it. Goodbye little sharky! It was nice meeting you :)

So that was my first fishing experience. My first time fishing and I caught a shark, without a pole. Not bad if I must say so myself. I didn't leave the site totally unscathed though, because in the process of getting sharky out of the water the monofilament cut my arm - proof that I am a hardy fisherman, indeed.

Sometimes it calls for a little ENGINEuity

Throughout this field season it really does feel like there is always something a little off. Sometimes the boat is sinking in the middle of the night, sometimes we have to pick up a dead sea turtle, sometimes there are hurricanes that send us wind, sometimes there are stranded dolphins, and sometimes there is engine trouble. This week we used three different boats and all three had engine problems.

One day last week (Thursday? I lose track of time down here) Emily was working with the FWC, so Stefanie and I decided to do inshore surveys. It was a beautiful day out. It was hot, sunny, windless, AND high tide - the perfect field day. Our spirits were high. We were seeing dolphins, making good time on our surveys, eating delicious Greek yogurt...everything was just splendid. That is, until the engine starting screaming at us. A loud, monotone alarm rang in our ears telling us to shut off our engine immediately - and we complied. So we sat there, eating our leftovers, pretending that this was an intended lunch break, and not talking. We were both thinking the same thing, "maybe if we don't talk about it, or about anything, the noise will go away and we can continue our survey". So that's how it was. We sat there and waited for the engine to cool off, and then quietly turned the engine on (NO NOISE!) and continued our work in the direction of the marina - just to be safe. As we headed toward the shore and enjoyed the sound of alarm-less ocean splash and engine buzzing, we allowed ourselves to hope that the alarm was a fluke. But it wasn't - and the alarm rang even louder this time and the engine had to be turned off. We were lucky, though, as just entering the marina. We took the oars and started to paddle in, until some nice southern gentleman tossed us a rope and pulled us to the dock.

We carefully pulled the boat out and brought it to the mechanic. It was a shame. It was the perfect research day and we were stuck without a boat. We didn't want this to be the case tomorrow as well, so we called Jenn and asked her if we could use her boat. She said "yes" (thank god) with the condition that she go with us to get some driving experience - which was fine with us. The next day we went out with Jenn on her fantastic $20G Caroline Skiff. It was a beautiful boat, but was not used very much at all. This became all the more apparent when it tapped out at 15 knots at full throttle. Pushing the engine to go 15 knots was not only a waste of time for us, but hard on the engine, so we brought her in. Stefanie left to get the trailor when Jenn noticed something - we forgot to open the vent on the gas can! Wow. The engine wasn't getting gas. No wonder is was slugging along. I ran to gather Stefanie and we loaded up and heading out again.

This time it was doing quite nicely. It was going more than 15 knots, getting gas, being awesome, but it was having trouble planing and it was still struggling. We went out and did some work, but decided it was too rocky and the engine probably needed a tune up or the carbs cleaned or something. We couldn't use this boat either.

The next boat on our list is an older, smaller Carolina Skiff that Stefanie has regular access too. We drove a few towns over to pick 'er up, excited to be able to get out on the water. We packed the boat up, put her in the water with smiles on our faces, ready to do research. The smiles quickly dwindled, though. Not even a mile out we noticed the engine wasn't spitting. The last thing we needed was to fry the engine of somebody else's boat, so we went back, took her out of the water, and took her home. When we got home we opened up the engine, put some rabbit ears on (I still don't know what that means) and reset the spitter. Now with the engine getting properly cooled, we got in the truck and went back to the water.

We were so happy to see that the engine was spitting and our hopes for the day did get high. That is, until we noticed that the engine was slugging and running rough. Stefanie and Emily decided it was probably the carbs. SO. We pulled the boat out of the water and brought her home, again. Emily and I opened up the engine and took the carbs out (apparently she had done this before earlier in the season). We took the carburetor apart, cleaned it and let it sit for an hour. After the carbs sat, Emily and I put them back together and assembled them back into the engine. It was actually kind of fun, beyond all the annoying tiny metal pieces, and I felt like I learned a lot about how engines work from seeing the inside like that. I now know how to do minor outboard repair! How fun!

We managed to finish that day's work after cleaning the carbs. The engine ran much smoother and we could finally get some speed. It was a short-lived high, however, as the very next day the motor that raises and lowers the engine started to give. In the shallow Gulf waters of Cedar Key it is absolutely necessary to be able to raise the motor up and off the ground - particularly at low tide. We checked the price for this kind of repair, and at a whopping 500 bones, there was no way it could get fixed. Neither Stefanie nor Frank (the owner of the boat) have the money to fix it. So we had to pull the boat again and return it to Frank, who is going to have his brother look at it and hopefully fix it.

That brings us to today. Our boat is FINALLY fixed and ready to use. A week of engines being a pain in the ass really set us back. Hopefully, we can make up for it within the next few days - I'm sure we will!! :)

Baby Dolphin

So I realize that I have been slacking in the blogging area, and I apologize. It has been busy down here for sure - long days on the water, photo-ID, blah blah blah - but in addition to all that, there has been a baby dolphin in distress that has taken up a few days. We got a call sometime last week (I think it was last week) about a baby dolphin about 75 miles north of us that had found its way up a tidal creek alongside a manatee and her baby, but did not find its way out. The poor thing had been swimming in circles for almost 2 weeks, and noone was sure if it had been eating or if it was sick or what. As the local rescue for situations like this, the CKDP got our supplies together and drove over.

When we got there we realized that this was an extremely rural area - conferderate flags a-flyin', no street signs, no stores, practically no people, but more importantly, no Gulf. We were quite a ways inland, and we were going to see a dolphin! Last I checked, dolphins were sea dwellers, not freshwater fish.

When we got to the house, we were greeted with a short rotund woman with a thick southern accent and curlers in her hair, and a man with a long white mustache and grease on his tank top. They led us to the neighbors dock to show us the dolphin. The dolphin was very young and VERY stressed, and the creek was...well a creek! It was tiny - no more than 5ft deep - and definitely not proper dolphin habitat. We took some pictures and some video, got a water sample, jotted down some notes, talked to the locals, and made some calls. We were there a few hours, and decided that it was best not to feed the wild dolphin in hopes that it would return to the gulf on its on. We asked locals to keep tabs on the babe and let us know if anything changes.

A few days later, with news that the dolphins was still there and probably not eating, we went to the creek again. This time an experienced vet flew in from New Orleans to meet us (he and his colleague had been helping the sea turtles in LA for a few weeks). The vet had hit us with some very disturbing news - the dolphin was only 3-5 months old. We were under the impression that it was at least a year, and able to fend for itself, but at only 3 months he hadn't even got his teeth in yet! The poor thing was definitely not eating and needed to be removed immediately! It was clear that this poor guy was worse off than we had seen only a few days prior. His dorsal fin was leaning (a sign of too much exposure to the air), his fat reserves were dwindling (he was suffering from "peanut-head", a term used to describe what happens when the fat that is behind a young dolphins neck has dissipated and the back of the skull is visible), and he was moving much slower.

We conversed with the vet and made a plan to go full force on finding this guy a home. He was too young to be set back into the wild, so he would most likely be placed in captivity with an aquarium or rescue center. After many calls and pleas, an aquarium across the state said they had room for the little guy. We emphasized the importance of moving the baby ASAP (like that day or the next day), but could only get a team sent over for Monday (2 days later). We were disappointed it wasn't sooner, but relieved he had a place to live and a team to move him.

The next day, though, we got a call in the morning that the dolphin was no longer circling the docks. This was either good news or bad news. It either meant that he swam out to the Gulf with the tide, or that he had passed. Dolphins, unlike many other marine mammals sink when they expire, so we would not be able to see directly if he had died. With that news, we packed our stuff (yet again) to check out the area. A member of the clearwater aquarium was able to meet us there and he and Stefanie went up the creek in his jonboat, and Emily and I went up the other way in kayaks to search for a dolphin - dead or alive.
Our efforts were fruitless, however, and we found no sign of the poor baby dolphin. It is possible that the little guy made it out, but more likely that he used all of his reserves and crashed. It may be, though, that it is better this way. Dolphins do die, and baby dolphins more often than adults. Perhaps nature preferred to take the orphan dolphin than have him held in human captivity for the rest of his life. It would have been nice to be part of an effort like that, but I am glad to have been there to bring some attention to him at all. R.I.P peanut head...you were cute.

I like turtles! Alright you're a great...zombie

One of the things I was asked to do in my first hours here with the Cedar Key Dolphin Project (CKDP) was to become a certified emergency response volunteer for local marine life. What this means is that we are the first people called in the event that marine animals are in distress (stranded, injured, deceased, tangled, etc) within the area.

My first experience with this aspect of my job was to assess and remove a dead sea turtle. This was a less than pleasant experience, as the poor thing was wrapped up in fishing line and had been expired for some time. It was still a very "interesting" experience, to say the least. After the CKDP and FWC assessed the victim (got some measurements, etc), Stefanie and I were left to remove and bury the poor thing. This would have been much easier task had tide not gone out, but with some delicate maneuvering and a little bit of luck we got the turtle up onto the dock, into a bag, and into the trunk of my car (fantastic!). We dug a hole in the backyard, put some cardboard down, and laid the beast to rest.

Why may you ask would we want a giant sea turtle buried in our backyard? (A question I also asked myself) Well, the answer to that is that we now have ownership of a very expensive sea turtle shell! Woo hoo. It will be VERY interesting to see what the state of the...uh...package...will be in come the end of August. Hopefully, very clean! Alas, I never thought the day would come that I would desire something like THAT, but I guess I am experiencing a lot of new things down here, why wouldn't a clean sea turtle carcass be one of them - ok, I'm done...this entry is getting a little weird.

Friends, Fish, and...Lunchables?

On my last FWC trip, my new friend, Jenn, took a few pictures. I am goofily happy in the one above, and this outfit is my FWC outfit as it gets completely filthy. I would say that this is a pretty typical me out on the boat!

This is a nice shot of Jenn, Taj, and me. Taj is a manager for the FWC. Shortly after this we went for a little swim, which was fantastic - I finally got to use my sea legs!

The next picture is one of Jenn, Taj, me, and a volunteer for the day, Sarah. Sarah was very nice, but didn't pull very hard and was afraid of bugs. She also ate a lunchables ham and cheese lunch! Yelch!!

I am writing in this picture, Jenn and Sarah are counting fish, and Taj is measuring. Caylib is driving. On every trip there is a PI which is the designated driver/navigator - he is the one that took the pic, and also very nice.

I am still waiting to take pictures on Truncatus, but I will before this season is over - I promise! :)

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

Stefanie has been down here in Cedar Key for three field seasons. She is doing a lot of population dynamics; seeing who the residents are, how they associate, where the hang out, what they eat, etc. I guess there is a group of dolphins that exhibit a foraging behavior never before seen in marine mammals that utilizes both a division of labour and role specializing.

This year's work is mostly dedicated to figuring out what the dolphins eat - she has darters that come and collect skin samples, and we (the lowly assistants) go out on FWC trips to collect fish. She'll do stable isotope analysis when she gets back to Boston to see what signatures are in both fish and dolphin, and since you are what you eat...she should be able to figure out their favorite delicacies!

The FWC (Fish and Wildlife Commission) trips are fun. The people are really nice and I am definitely learning a lot about fish - in particular, that I don't like working with fish, ha! The work is far from glamorous - long hours of getting dirty, wet, and stinky, lots of pulling, jumping in an out of the boat, and there are plenty of possible dangers/discomforts that comes with the work. Following is a list of things that you have to be constantly be aware of when wading in Cedar Key water:

1. Sting Rays! - There are tons of stingrays in these waters. Stingrays eat mostly clams and since this area makes its living off clams, there are plenty for rays to munch on. The technique fishmen/scientists/everyone uses to prevent stepping on and getting stung by a stingray is to SHUFFLE. Shuffle shuffle shuffle those feet. If you don't - you will get stung...without a doubt.

2. Gators - The gators are not an immediate threat as they could care less for us humans, but they are definitely here! I see them on the banks all the time, and they get pretty big. I saw one the other day that was probably 12-foot. The problem with the gators is mostly that people feed them, so they are not afraid of people or boats. Apparently the big ones are kind of lazy, but the little ones are fiesty...and those are the ones that are harder to see.

3. Water Moccasins - These snakes are deadly and aggressive. I've been told that they will stand right up and lunge just like a viper. The good thing with these, though, is that they stay mostly on land. I guess what they like to do best is to hang out underneath pelican nests to gobble up babies that may fall out of the nest. As a result, water moccasins, here, are actually white - from the bird poop!

4. Jellyfish - The jellyfish in these waters are far from deadly, but they do sting! On my last FWC trip we had to pull a seine in water with lots of stinging jellyfish - it was uncomfortable to say the least, but the sting lasts only for 15 minutes or so and then its fine.

5. Catfish - I hate catfish. They are disgusting fish that will eat anything and get gigantic. On top of being just an ugly and unfortunate fish, these suckers will prick you like no other! They have sharp prickers in their pectoral and dorsal fins that will make you bleed for sure. One poor guy working for the FWC was handling a catfish and dropped it on his foot - the dorsal spine went right through is boot and foot! OUCH!

6. - Muddy Substrate - The bottoms of the Cedar Key waters are not sandy. The waters are not clear and beautiful...they are very murky and very muddy. The mud is not forgiving either - it will suck your foot in and not let go. It is definitely not like quick sand, but it is scary at times, because it is very difficult to walk or move if you step too heavily. I generally like to glide on top like I'm skiing. I'm fortunate in that I am light - heavier people have more problems with the mud.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something on this fabulous list, but this pretty much covers the basics. Needless to say, I am not THAT fond of going out to collect fish. It is a lot of uncomfortable work and never-ending counting and surveying of fish, but I kind of like the adventure of it all. I guess I am doing well, though, because they are very happy with my work there. They say I pull hard, work well, and learn fast. That's the Chaffey way! :)

Clamerica the Beautiful

This past weekend Stefanie and Emily's parents were in town for the 4th of July weekend. Cedar Key does a nice job of celebrating both America and the clams that sustain the town in a festival called "Clamerica". It was fun. There were all kinds of clam-related activities...clam eating contests, clam sack races, clam bakes, clam art,
clam t-shirts, clam chowder, clam fritters...it was clamtastic! Clamania to say the least. I was happy as a clam to be a part of it (alright I'll stop). We ate food, walked around, hit up the shops on main street, saw a golf cart parade (most vehicles in Cedar key are golf carts because it is such a small island - there are golf cart crossing signs all over the place), and at the end of the night there were fireworks. The fireworks were nice. We put two boats in the water to watch them. We tied up the boats, had some wine, and enjoyed the show. They were by no means city fireworks and there were definitely long strands of time that the dead black sky should have been full of exploding colorful fun, but it was entertaining anyhow.


We lucked out when we were on the water, too, because as soon as we got home it started to rain buckets. It poured and we had two sinkable boats out on the water. I am certainly getting my practice in putting boats in the water and taking them out because that night we had to remove two boats from the water (not one...two) in torrential downpours. I had to bail out the Carolina Skiff that had its back end in water and sinking, while Stefanie and Emily took out our research boat. There were some mishaps - water in the boat, dropping the keys, broken lights... but they got it together and came back in time to grab the Carolina before I could bail no more. It was hard work since we were tired from the day and it was almost midnight, but we did it... again.