Dolphin Season 2024: Fieldwork Blog

2024 MEXT scholars

2024 marked my 7th year researching Pacific white-sided dolphins in Mutsu Bay but my first year as an official student of Mie University. After securing the MEXT Japanese government scholarship whilst in the UK I came back to Japan in April to begin life as a research student at the university (until I pass the entrance exam and officially become a PhD student). So for this year’s research I went in with a different perspective - thinking about my PhD plan, changing the plan, panicking about the plan and re-thinking the plan. It turned out to be the best year yet as it was the first time we managed to stay for the majority of the dolphin season. This meant we could conduct 21 boat surveys, join 8 sightseeing boat trips and spend hours and hours observing dolphins from land spanning over 5 weeks of fieldwork.

It was my first time visiting Aomori in May and so it was interesting to observe the different behavioural patterns of the dolphins. We tried to follow these patterns through landwatches and early morning surveys. Our arrival also coincided with two very cute baby hares that had made their home in the MBDR garden. The Shimokita peninsula is such a beautiful area and a hotspot for wildlife. We had multiple Japanese macaque experiences, seeing large troops with their babies, saw the elusive ‘tanuki’ (Japanese raccoon dog) and the unusual ‘kamoshika’ (Japanese serow) - a symbol of this area and a protected species.

This year’s team varied from week to week. Sometimes the whole crew was surveying together, whilst other times it was just the two of us - myself and fellow Pacific white-sided dolphin nerd, Mie PhD student and MBDR member Natsuki. Our Tokyo colleague, Mishima-sensei brought along three of her students who conducted an acoustic survey in the bay as well as started a scallop experiment with the help of our local fishermen friends. Having acousticians on the team also allowed us the amazing opportunity to capture some dolphin clicks as we watched them feed on a bait ball. The Tokyo team then joined us for our annual chat at Wakinosawa primary school where Mishima-sensei enlightened the kids with a fascinating introduction to the world of cetacean sounds and communication.

Our boat surveys involved the usual photo-ID and drone data collection, guided by our captain, local scallop fisherman Kazu. Every boat survey is different and just as exciting as the first time I rode that same boat back in 2018. This year's highlights were riding along with hundreds of dolphins for some magical minutes as well as one very social survey when a curious dolphin approached the bow and looked me straight in the eye, to which I screamed with glee and waved (very scientific of me). As this fieldwork season was the longest we had ever stayed to research we got further insight into how long individuals stay in the bay. Not to mention lots of new dolphins to add to the catalogue! We even had an unusual sighting of a leucistic dolphin. Leucism is a genetic condition that causes lack of pigmentation, giving the dolphin a unique pinky-white colouration pattern. Unfortunately we also witnessed many dolphins with damaged dorsal fins as well as one with a ring of what looked like hard plastic around its body. Anthropogenic injuries such as these are something that I would like to incorporate into my work.

An unusual sighting of a leucistic dolphin

All being well, next year I will begin my PhD work in earnest, working on an assessment of the population. I’m really excited to be given this opportunity to do my PhD on the dolphins that I have loved and studied for so long now. In the next 3 years I will uncover more about this amazing species, helping us to understand more about the population and the importance of Mutsu Bay.

*My research trip this year was funded by the Wildlife Research Center (Kyoto University)*