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Detecting Dolphins

July 21, 2016

WHOI researcher Alex Bocconcelli deploys a recording device in Wellfleet Harbor as part of a project to detect dolphins and whales before they strand themselves on shore. The harbor is a hot spot for mass strandings: Marine mammals swim into the U-shaped inlet and are unable to find their way out again. The passive acoustic monitoring device is programmed to record a range of frequencies that include calls of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, common dolphins, and long-finned pilot whales. The eventual goal would be for the recorder to send a signal to rescuers who could herd the animals out of the harbor to safety. (Photo by Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)