The Dolphin Pod

Dive deep into the world of killer whale research on this episode of The Dolphin Pod! Justin Gregg, Kathleen Dudzinski, Manon Themelin, and Kelly Melillo-Sweeting take you behind the scenes of DCP's killer whale studies—from SeaWorld San Diego to the Canary Islands' Loro Parque, and soon to the coast of Gibraltar and the icy fjords of Norway. Discover how these magnificent "big dolphins" use their giant spatula-like pectoral fins surprisingly similar to their smaller cousins, hear of adorable moments of mom Morgan keeping baby Teno in line, and yes—learn about some truly unique male bonding behaviors that definitely won't make it into a children's book. With research spanning four continents and collaborations across the globe, this episode reveals how these apex predators communicate, play, and socialize in ways that are quite similar to their smaller dolphin cousins. Plus, find out why Kathleen has promised her husband she'll never get in the water with killer whales, while Manon prepares to do exactly that in December! Thank you to Loro Parque Fundación for supporting this episode. 

The Dolphin Communication Project has a new paper in review titled "Association and social networks based on proximity and inter-individual interactions in a group of managed care killer whales" and we sat down with three of the co-authors to hear what it's all about: Kathleen Dudzinski, Heather Manitzas Hill, and Manon Themelin. After combing through thousands of hours of video footage of killer whales at SeaWorld California socializing without people around, our intrepid group of scientists made a few interesting discoveries and observed a bunch of natural behaviors. And soon this team will be looking at even more underwater footage of killer whales socializing from around the world to see what else turns up. To hear more, listen to the podcast!

In this special episode of The Dolphin Pod, Kelly and Justin sit down to answer a whole batch of awesome questions from kid listeners! We tackle questions like: Is a whale’s spine hard?Why do whales have blowholes?How long can whales stay underwater for?How high can dolphins jump out of the water?How long do dolphins live?And tons more! Thanks to all the awesome kids who asked, including Arlo, Autumn, Ava, Bohannon, Casey, Christian, Claira, Emmy, Eva, Jahtasia, James, Lane, Lauchlin, Leo, Nate, Noah, Rhylin, Robert, Tristan. This episode was made possible thanks to support from the DiverMojo Foundation

An interview with DCP Research Associate Manon Themelin and DCP Director Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski.  We learn how Manon got started researching dolphins and the exciting discoveries she's made. Manon's research into relationship quality (RQ) shows that the methods we apply to the study of ravens and chimpanzees works just as well for dolphins, albeit with some minor tweaks to accommodate for dolphins' aquatic lifestyle and peculiar ways of socializing. Also, it turns out that the positions dolphin adopt when swimming next to each other and how they navigate each others' slipstreams can tell us a lot about the relationships between individual dolphins. 

Justin interviews Jason Bruck, Assistant Professor of Biology at Stephen F. Austin State University. Jason is the head of the Bruck Integrative Biology Lab where he and his students study dolphin behavior and cognition. In this interview, Jason and Justin discuss: ·         how Jason got into the field ·         advice he offers to student hoping to study dolphins ·         his latest research on dolphin signature whistles and urine ·         his history with Kathleen and DCP ·         why dolphins are the hardest animals to work with on the planet ·         his unexpected past as a juggler ·         his home arcade ·         the scientists who influenced his career ·         the challenges and advantages facing young academics  ·         women in the field of dolphin science ·         the things that people often misunderstand about dolphins ·         parsimony and the problem of anthropomorphism ·         his lab's current research on ocean noise and how it affects dolphin cognition and behavior ·         his research collecting samples from wild dolphins using drones