Away from the computer and at sea for a day

A problem with a knee has forced me to abandon almost completely the work at sea, to the point that over the last six months spent at our field station in Galaxidi, on the northern shore of the Gulf of Corinth, I've had no chances of meeting my study subject - dolphins - at sea.

While in Greece, I have been devoting most of my time to computer work and have enjoyed very much the return of my collaborators from their daily dolphin surveys, with all their lively stories and hundreds of photos or videos to download. This made me feel quite close to the animals even if I was actually not seeing them.

After many years spent observing dolphins from boats, I can now survive not watching them every day. And yet, it is sometimes sad to look at the calm sea from the coast and not being out on the inflatable.

Today, however, conditions were ideal for a survey: no volunteers around and three of my colleagues (Stefano, Zsuzsanna ad Silvia) ready to take the sea. For a change, I decided to join them, with a commitment to remain seated.

We were blessed by an unusually calm sea. In about six hours of navigation we surveyed a large portion of the study area and found striped and common dolphins that immediatly came to bowride (see photo), although our boat was moving very slowly.

We saw lots of beautiful Cotylorhiza jellyfish, as well as tunicate colonies and individuals (I touched a transparent Salpa for the first time). We sighted a fish school jumping to avoid a predator, spotted what looked like the pectoral and caudal fins of a billfish or a shark, photographed the flight of a shearwater, and enjoyed the deep blue waters of the Gulf, over which every object or animal looked intersting and worth of our attention. We inspected some fish farms far away and recorded their position. Then, we discussed and questioned our research protocols, perhaps for the thousandth time.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience that reminded me of how incredibly lucky we are to be doing this work of dolphin researchers - whether we actually spend a lot of time with the animals or we study them through a computer monitor.

Giovanni Bearzi

Kalamos: first sighting of the year

Finally! Yesterday, just after 15 minutes of navigation around the transparent waters of Kalamos we had our first sighting of the year. It was my seventh time surveying the area this year and I already had come to terms with the fact that a sighting, given the low dolphin density in these waters, was quite unlikely.

When my colleague Susie called out! I couldn’t believe it. My perplexity, however, only lasted three seconds -- the time it took to turn around and spot the familiar silhouettes of the dolphin’s dorsal fins smoothly cutting the sea surface. As we approached them we confirmed that they were bottlenose dolphins. We spent three hours photoidentifying all the 16 dolphins of the group and recording their behaviour with the help of our five Earthwatch volunteers. I cannot think of a better spot for the dolphins to pop up and make my day. They were right in front of the beautiful village of Episkopi, where we had our field base for over 15 years and where I had some of the best moments of my life.

Because of my exclusive dedication to research in the Amvrakikos Gulf for the past several years, my last sighting in Kalamos occurred in 2004. Being around that group of dolphins felt special. Since I switched on the camera to get started with the photo-id, memories kept coming to my mind. My first sighting in a nearby location, 11 years ago. The first day I grabbed the camera with shaky hands after Giovanni (Bearzi) handed it to me saying “Joan, six dolphins: photoidentify them all - you have half an hour”. The first research season in which me and my fratello Stefano (Agazzi) were in charge of the research and logistics on our own... and many hours spent in the company of these wonderful creatures. I would not be the same person without all those experiences on my shoulders.

Joan Gonzalvo

A sighting, which was different from others

Back in 2007, I remember coming to the Amvrakikos Gulf with no previous experience. Thanks to the several months spent in the field, I am now more adept, but I still have to learn how to stand up on my own after a fall. While working in different study areas with my colleagues, I’ve got many chances of broadening my skills. Advise from my teachers Giovanni, Stefano and Joan allowed me to improve myself, but then the time arrives when one must fly away from the nest.

This time arrived earlier than I thought when Joan asked me to run a boat survey on my own. I felt fortunate to finally get such a nice opportunity and although my knees were shaking a bit, I felt joy.

On that morning, the Amvrakikos Gulf was completely flat so the circumstances were ideal. I decided to head towards the northwestern part of the Gulf. Everyone on board was eagerly scanning the sea surface until… out at 11! When the dolphins surfaced in the distance, my heart started to beat fiercely. But as we got closer I had become more focused on my several tasks, and oblivious of my initial excitement.

When I realized that there was a calf in the group, a smile appeared on my face. It is always a nice moment to see a tiny life following her mother with its clumsy surfacings. The dolphins, including the mother-calf pair, approached a fish farm. This was unexpected, because calves normally do not get close to the cages. At that moment, I realised that I wasn’t just an observer but I could understand what was going on and share this knowledge with my group of volunteers.

It was amazing to see things from another perspective compared to the sightings when I was acting as a research assistant, and someone else was in charge. Things that only a year ago appeared so overwhelmingly difficult, like driving the boat, taking good photos, recording the behaviour and directing people on board, all at once, now unfolded smoothly, and this gave me even more confidence and pleasure.

I still have a lot to learn in this field, but at least I could enjoy the feeling of being a leader for one day and experiencing how it feels to be responsible for a group of people on board, for all the data collection and for Joan’s ‘baby’, the inflatable.

In the end, everybody survived the first sighting with me. One volunteer, Jane, had a particularly good experience and her feelings came to surface after we moored the boat, back at the port, when I saw tears of joy in her eyes. Guys - it was a great experience for me, too! Thank you for being such a good team!

Zsuzsanna Pereszlényi

How one person can begin to make a change

Coming to Vonitsa as a research assistant happened naturally for me. The Mediterranean Sea and its beautiful coasts, is a region very close to my heart, and I immediately knew that I had to be a part of the Ionian Dolphin Project.

It was late evening when I arrived in Vonitsa. I managed to block out the lively music from the packed tavernas and focus on the lectures and terms racing through my mind. I reviewed the highlighted papers that were rolled up under my arm and I was certain that I was prepared for my first time working in the field, and my first time with any cetaceans in the wild.

My first sighting of a group of bottlenose dolphins came sooner than I had expected. Alongside the Earthwatch volunteers, on our first trip towards the center of the Amvrakikos Gulf, two adults stretched on the surface and peered out in our direction before an entire group of dolphins came into sight and began to forage. I felt the adrenaline immediately, and of course my mind went blank. Thank you Joan, for always getting me back on track.

As a Biology student you become overwhelmingly aware of the accumulating threats facing marine mammals and their sensitive habitats. As most of these threats occur on a global scale, they are often difficult to grasp and they only become a constant reminder that you are just one individual. Ultimately, it becomes all too easy to get lost in your studies and to lose sight of your way and where to begin to make change.

In the short time I’ve spent in Vonitsa I’ve learned more than I could have prepared myself for. I feel like I’ve grown more as a Biologist during these ten days than in my five years at the University. Thank you to the Earthwatch volunteers for sharing their time, from the dedication in the field to the painful belly laughs over dinner. On my last day out in the Gulf we sighted two calves with their mothers foraging by their sides. It is with these experiences, when science becomes something tangible, something that you can share with others, that all the lectures, the stress, and the long nights finally make sense again, and you remember that this is how one person can begin to make a change.

Iva Popovic, Canada/Serbia

All good things come to an end

Isn’t it strange how six weeks sometimes feel like a small eternity? That’s at least the impression I have as my time here in Amvrakikos Gulf is drawing to an end. Once immersed in the pleasant routine of combined field and analytic work, everything else fades away and you feel like you have been here forever. Although a cliché, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this experience has paved the road for a new chapter in my life.

Professionally, I have learnt and developed tremendously, and have no doubt that this is my ‘path in life’ (to throw in another cliché). Personally, I have had a lot of fun and enjoyed every day out at sea. ‘Conservationally’, I hope that my work will make some kind of contribution to cetacean research.

On my last day we also made a second survey of the site of Kalamos, and the comparison with Amvrakikos is rather striking. This place looks like a paradise, but is unfortunately a paradise in decline, for dolphin-lovers at least. Listening to Joan describing the situation of 10 years ago, it is difficult to believe that hardly any cetaceans or marine mega fauna remain.

Being able to follow your beliefs and passions as part of your work is a privileged few are entitled. I thus feel doubly grateful for having had the opportunity to work with Tethys as a research assistant. A special thanks is due to Joan and Giovanni, whose guidance and support have made my time here not only possible but also challenging and exciting. Bon courage for next week Joan!

Christina Geijer

Narrow Bay Hotel

Yesterday there had been no dolphin sightings and although the overall team spirit was high, on our way back from the supermarket Silvia and I decided to search for bottlenose dolphins from the coastal road, stopping our car from time to time to explore portions of sea.

The surface of the Gulf of Corinth was flat but we couldn't manage to spot any dorsal fin. As a last attempt, we parked on a cliff overlooking a coastal fish farm. It only took a second for Silvia to spot a minuscule dorsal fin in between the fish cages, about one km away.

Although the late afternoon was an unusual time to set up a dolphin survey, we called Tilen at the field station, and we told him to hurry up and get to that place with the boat right away, while Silvia and I were trying try to keep track of the dolphin. Our five volunteers were cooking and showering by then, not expecting such a sudden change in the programme, but they reacted promptly and in a minute they were ready to go. It didn't take long to see the inflatable appear from behind a rocky cape and find the dolphin following the directions we gave from land.

In the meantime the dolphin had left the fish farm and approached the place were we had parked, eventually entering a narrow fjord where he started feeding quietly under our amazed eyes, only a few metres from the coast. Tilen approached very carefully and the dolphin did not react or change his behaviour at all. This was one of the rare occasions when one could tell whether our work causes any behavioural disruption. In this particular case, it was obvious that the dolphin couldn't care less about our inflatable, as confirmed by the respiration intervals that Silvia was recording with her digital watch throughout the observation.

The dolphin went on feeding in the narrow bay for about an hour, moving in circles and performing short dives of about 1.5 min. Then he probably decided that dinner was over (it was around 8 PM) and he moved to the other side of the bay, spending the next hour resting about 10 m from the rocky coast.

At 9 PM the light was rapidly fading and we decided to stop the observation so that the team on board could get back to the port before darkness. The dolphin, however, looked like he was going to spend the whole night at Narrow Bay Hotel.

Giovanni Bearzi

My first week at the Ionian Dolphin Project

My first week at the Ionian Dolphin Project in the Gulf of Corinth has passed.

I came here with two main objectives: 1) to learn from experience of Tethys researchers and 2) to contribute my help and experience to this new research project. I am quite sure (and I truly hope it really is so) that both goals are being fulfilled.

I am really learning so much here. Silvia and Giovanni are both being patient trainers, constantly teaching me and showing me new things about their way of organisation, study design, fieldwork, data analysis and data interpretation.

The project is very similar in many ways to the project I am running back home in Slovenia, and yet it is also very different. The experience I gain here will undoubtetly help me improve our way of work in the North Adriatic, hopefully ultimately contributing to the conservation of cetaceans and marine life in the Mediterranean.

And although I have seen quite a few bottlenose dolphins in several parts of Europe, the dolphins here have shown me things I have never seen before, including the dolphin with a strange tail, the dolphin with a dead newborn, dolphins being less than 10 m from the shore,...

But it is not only about research and science. For me it is a valuable experience also 'life-wise'. Being far from home, experiencing a different lifestyle, meeting interesting people, enjoying new environments (both natural and urban), getting new perspectives on things...for me this is also something very interesting and useful. I am really enjoying my time here, not only for the interesting thing we do, but also for the people that surround me.

My eyes are open and I look optimistically to the days ahead!

Tilen Genov

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Photo: Tilen Genov and Silvia Bonizzoni discussing data collection protocols at the Galaxidi field station

A big yellow box

Today I was cleaning our research boat when the postman stopped by and informed me that a big box was waiting for me.

After my duties I went to the post office with no idea of what the box could be. I wasn't waiting for anything.

With a nice 'kalimera' the guy gave me a big yellow box sent from Germany to the Tethys research station of Galaxidi. Our first volunteers Gunda and William, who spent with us a lovely spring week immediately came to my mind.

With a happy childish face I opened th box and found: 1) a very useful kettle for tea-addicted staff members, 2) the book 'The Swarm' with a dedication to future IDP volunteers, 3) a bottle of excellent 'Siegburger Liquer' for pleasant drinks after dinner, 4) a postcard from Siegburg, and 5) a long letter by William describing his experience in Greece and his thoughts on environmental conservation.

What an exquisite surprise! A very special thank you to Gunda and William!

Silvia Bonizzoni