Seminar on Human-Dolphin Relations

Bottlenose dolphins.\Photo courtesy of Marine Mammal Center.

It isn’t exactly “Flipper,” but the upcoming talk in the Hatfield Marine Science Center’s Research Seminar Series deals with relations between people and dolphins.

Mauricio Cantor, an assistant professor with the Marine Mammal Institute at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, will speak on “Foraging synchrony drives resilience in human-dolphin mutualism.”  The event, at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4, is free and open to all.

His description of his talk:

“The behavioral and ecological links from individual animals, to populations, to communities are diverse and dynamic. Understanding these linkages can help us to predict how natural systems cope with environmental changes. One way to do so is by combining fine-scale behavior, long-term population dynamics and theoretical models. In this seminar, I will focus on the behavioral mechanisms of an intriguing cooperative system in which wild dolphins and artisanal fishers forage together to catch mullet fish. I will then zoom out and evaluate how knowledge about this ecological interaction, linking populations of two predators and their common prey, can inform us about the resilience of the socio-ecosystem they form together. 

To register for the event, go here.

Password: 972587 or call +1-971-247-1195 US Meeting ID: 945 5573 1151