Proposal |
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Project Documentation - Phase II - 2010 to 2012 | |
Written by Andrew Stevenson | |
Thursday, 10 June 2010 10:22 | |
The Humpback Whale Research Project, BermudaPhase II - 2010 to 2012Proposal
I will attempt to continue "The Humpback Whale Research Project, Bermuda" with continued data collection and research, and an educational outreach programme. I will continue this project according to the scale of the support received. Some of the specific goals that I could undertake include:Education:Educational outreach: Using the 60-minute film "Where the Whales Sing" as the primary tool, work with educators to maximize the impact of the documentary at schools around Bermuda. The DVD is divided into 16 ‘chapters'. Appropriate selections or combinations of these chapters can be shown to different age groups. A teachers' aid, or curriculum/lesson plan, will be developed to emphasize the ‘teachable moments' in each chapter. This teachers' guide will be made available on the www.whalesbermuda.com website for any teacher to access. I will continue to make personal appearances at schools during the school year to talk about the film, the project, and other aspects about our marine environment. DVDs of the film will be distributed free to all schools and public libraries in Bermuda.
Research:Fluke Catalogue: Obtaining and catalogue more humpback whale fluke ids, comparing them to our photographs from previous years, and matching them against the Allied Whale catalogue of over 7,000 individual humpback whale fluke ids.
Data Analysis: Match photographs taken each year to our own Bermuda catalogue and the North Atlantic catalogue of whale fluke ids.
Fishermen questionnaire: Catalogue interviews with as many Bermuda commercial fishermen as possible to compile a database of their observations regarding sightings of humpbacks and other whales and their behavior. Winter whales: Obtain fluke ids and hydrophone recordings during November, December, January, February and early March.
Video: When appropriate, continue documenting the humpbacks with underwater high definition video.
Accoustics: Deploy a leased pop-up acoustic underwater hydrophone on Challenger Bank for a six-month period from November to late May.
International contacts: Liase with academics and marine biologists around the world, sharing our observations and data. |