Weighing in between 300 and 1,400 pounds, with the ability to problem-solve, develop empathy and recognize themselves in a mirror, few animals share the level of intellect present in the bottlenose dolphin — a natural phenomenon Colorado State University students experience firsthand semiannually through a unique study abroad program.
BZ 482B, or the Field Course in Dolphin Behavior and Physiology, runs twice a year, allowing a group of CSU students to embark on an eight-day research trip to Anthony’s Key Resort in Roatan, Honduras, home to the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences.
The course is held in collaboration between CSU biology Professor Shane Kanatous and Dolphin Communication Project Director Kathleen Dudzinski. The pair originally met in graduate school and later welcomed the first class of CSU students to Honduras together in 2016.
“The Dolphin Communication Project is a nonprofit organization that has dual goals of research and education,” Dudzinski said. “So we take our research results and funnel them into education programs to encourage people to become environmental stewards (and) to protect the animals that live in the ocean.”
As DCP’s website states, Dudzinski’s research centers on dolphin-to-dolphin communication. Meanwhile, other collaborators and students survey a variety of topics that include “dolphin acoustics, biology, ecology, physiology, cognition and behavior.”
Bottlenose dolphins communicate through a high-pitched signature whistle, unique and distinctive to each member of a pod. They also utilize a series of yelps, clicks and body language movements for further expression. Dudzinski is able to measure communication between the megafaunas with a specialized machine she developed.
“I think (it) is a huge benefit to the program because it’s not just the sciences. They’re meeting the trainers and learning from them what goes into the care and maintenance of this group of animals, not just behaviorally or what we’re looking at when we observe them but actual care, husbandry and medical care that goes into these animals.” –Kathleen Dudzinski, Dolphin Communication Project director.
“To facilitate data collection, I designed and built an award-winning system called the mobile video acoustic system that allows us to record dolphin behavior and localization simultaneously and stereo audio to get an idea of how … the vocal signals might match with behavioral signals,” Dudzinski said.
Students are able to watch Dudzinski’s field work in the early morning hours daily during their time in Honduras. They also have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the dolphins.
“We have an encounter and a swim that we schedule during the week for them, where they get to go into the water and do an interaction with the trainer and meet the dolphins up close and then do a 30-minute swim,” Dudzinski said. “It’s a free swim with the dolphins, … and if the dolphins want to hang out and play, they do.”
The interaction with the trainers present at Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences allows students a chance to further delve into the daily lives of the large animals.
“I think (it) is a huge benefit to the program because it’s not just the sciences,” Dudzinski said. “They’re meeting the trainers and learning from them what goes into the care and maintenance of this group of animals, not just behaviorally or what we’re looking at when we observe them but actual care, husbandry and medical care that goes into these animals.”
This personal interaction with the powerful mammal is usually a standout moment of the trip for returning students, even years after they enrolled in the program. This fact rings true for masters student Alison Dyck, who attended the program in 2021 while pursuing her bachelors in zoology.
“They are incredibly powerful animals when you’re swimming with them, and … you’re allowed to pet them and stuff,” Dyck said. “You feel them and they’re just they’re all muscle.”
Dyck also reflected on the opportunity to observe Dudzinski’s research methods in action.
“It was a really, really fun way to experience how biological research is done out in the field and to see that the time that you are actually gathering data is a lot less time than you spend analyzing it,” Dyck said.
Out of the water, students also attend a daily classroom session. Topics of instruction range from dolphin physiology and behavior to exploring the flora and fauna of Roatan, as well as local conservation efforts.
“They’re getting exposed to a lot of different things that you might not experience in the heartland of the U.S., for example,” Dudzinski said. “And so, and I think for a lot of them, they don’t really know how to process that information until a little bit later because it’s so different to anything they’ve experienced.”
A strong camaraderie often forms between the students, with Dyck noting that several of her group members are still friends to this day. She also noted the unique learning environment Kanatous fostered as a core memory of her trip.
“When you are in a small group setting with (Kanatous), he is a professor who really challenges you to think critically about what you’re doing,” Dyck said. “You know, if you ask him a question, he’s going to ask you a question back to try to get you to think more about what you’re doing.”
When students return to the alpine landscape of the Rocky Mountain region, they take with them not only knowledge of dolphins but a greater understanding of Honduras and conservation techniques practiced worldwide.
“It’s shown them that there’s other ways to live,” Dudzinski said. “There’s a lot of different ways to experience conservation and protection for the environment, and this has opened up a world of different possibilities for them.”
Reach Katie Fisher at science@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
