Holy Mackerel is the bottlenose dolphin in the background with the readily-identifiable dorsal fin. It accompanies Grinelle and her new calf, shown here darting skyward for a breath of air.
Spring seas are thrilling. We never know who we’re going to find. Just as more and new people are out on the water, more and new dolphins are in our study area.
For example, Holy Mackerel is back! Holy Mackerel is a dolphin with a most remarkable dorsal fin. Because of this, it’s easy to recognize. So it’s easy to study.
Easily recognized dolphins get what we call a halo effect. They stand out.
But Holy Mackerel earns its halo. It is unique for its natural markings and behavior. Last spring, I reported a fantastic new feeding behavior brought to our area by visiting dolphins, kerplunking (Trading places – dolphins as tourists).
Kerplunking is, literally, a stunning feeding behavior executed with the controlled power we see in great golfers: The dolphin whaps the water with its flukes, “Ker-plunk!” to stun fish. Seeing local dolphins attempt this technique, my guess is that like golf, it takes time to learn to kerplunk effectively.
Like people, dolphins have unique ways of feeding; their technical differences are akin to people who twirl their spaghetti on a fork compared to people who mash it into submission. The question is whether our local dolphins might pick up kerplunking as a new habit.
Holy Mackerel and pals were the kerplunkers, here last April through August and then gone.
One spring Sunday months after our last observation of Holy Mackerel, I came home late after an intense weekend of promoting the researchers’ artistic pallet of statistics and design. That is, I teach the least popular graduate classes at Argosy University Sarasota (www.argosy.sarasota.edu). Research artistry can be hard to promote. I was tired.
Husband and boat captain John Heidemann proposed a sunset cruise. He was raring to show me his own long weekend lessons from sea trials battling the high seas of the riotous Gulf of Mexico. With high winds for weeks, the Gulf was raucous with rhythms captured from air currents.
I clamored onto the boat. Ready for sea serenity, I was distinctly disinclined towards data documentation.
But the gods have a sense of humor. Fins streamed by in golden sunset waters. P was in the lead, a delightful dolphin (Mystery at MacDonald’s), deeply into dating (Winning at weaning).
Squinting for fins that followed, I shouted, Holy Mack is back! We looked its companions from last year, Shave, Talbot, mishap Michigan, zesty little Berg. Another unique behavior of this group is that they tend to stay as one group. They don’t scatter out among local dolphins. Their part of the social relationship puzzle is easy. Shave surfaced ahead.
The group with Holy Mackerel is even more unique for their considerable coordination. Although dolphins reputedly launch coordinated attacks like wolves, we rarely see evidence of it among John’s Pass dolphins.
During the next survey, I found dolphins off the coolest school in the nation, a school right on the water (Youths thank bridge workers for saving sea life). We haven’t seen local dolphins use this area lately so the mere presence of dolphins was notable.
Delightfully, they were Holy Mackerel and pals kerplunking. Not only did this coordinated cadre return to John’s Pass at the same time this year as last year. They took to the same feeding grounds. In the lab, dolphins reveal prodigious memories. Here was a natural example of it. Surely, dolphins build a remarkable cognitive map for food.
Human vacationers use cognitive maps too, like when you take the same vacation two years in a row and return to the same restaurant.
After kerplunking and burrowing into the sand (Breakfast at the bottom), they slowly oozed to the south. I’d hung back lest I disturb them. So I wasn’t right there when they encountered another group of dolphins and got into a big fight.
Suddenly, tails whipped. Bam. Bam. Bam. Back breaches were launched, one dolphin slamming down on an opponent. Boom. Heavy breathing. Another attack. More heaving breathing.
Dolphin conflicts are hard to follow. Bodies rise, punch and writhe in cascades of great water turbulence. I couldn’t identity their opponents this time…but we’re watching for the most likely suspects, Ouch and Fish Lips (Running with the bulls).
Conflicts also take a lot of energy. Quickly (this time), the dolphins split up. Perhaps they searched for the less contentious context of another remembered restaurant.
Mack (and company) is back. It’s spring at sea, the season where things only get hotter and more interesting. On hallowed spring waters, watch for dolphins with halos. Watch for haloed fish too, as other ‘macks’ return to our local waters. Hear the mackerel fishermen purring?
Dr. Weaver studies wild dolphins under federal permit GA1088-1815, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Send her an e-mail at acweaver@tampabay.rr.com or visit www.dazzlingdolphins.com.
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