Spying on Spinners: What We Can Learn From Listening

A free presentation called “Spying on Spinners: What We Can Learn from Listening” will take a look at research conducted in the Maui Nui region (Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i and the ‘Au‘au Channel) that listened to spinner dolphins to learn more about their behaviors.  Reserve your spot. 

The presentation is part of Maui Nui Marine Resource Council’s monthly Know Your Ocean Speaker Series.

Megan McElligott, a fourth-year doctoral candidate at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the Marine Biology Graduate Program, will be the guest speaker. She will discuss her recent work for her master’s thesis, titled “Investigating Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) Occurrence and Acoustic Activity in the Maui Nui Region” which was recently published in Frontiers in Marine Science. 

She will discuss how the acoustic recordings in her study confirmed that spinner dolphins use Mānele Bay and Honolua Bay for their daily resting behavior, as well as their use of the ʻAuʻau channel for resting.

“Hawaiian spinner dolphins rest during the day in the islands’ coastal waters where they are susceptible to human disturbance,” reports McElligott.

She notes that spinner dolphins are nocturnal and hunt in offshore waters at night. During the day, they use areas close to shore to socialize, nurture their young, shelter from predators, and rest in preparation for nightly hunting.

The goal of McElligott’s research is to help wildlife managers determine the best ways to protect spinner dolphins from human disturbance.