Barbara Bilgre

E-Mail: mamanaia@earthlink.net

Education

• M.S. Animal Behavior, San Diego State University, May 1998
• B.S. Biology, Marine Science and Psychology, University of Miami, December 1991

Cetacean Research Experience

• December 1997 - Present:

- Personal project studying the behavioral and social ecology of Steno bredanensis (rough-toothed dolphins) including boat surveys, data analysis and photoidentification cataloging, Moorea, French Polynesia

- Field Biologist, assisting in Dr. Michael Poole's study of the behavioral and social ecology of Stenella longirostris (spinner dolphins) around Moorea, French Polynesia

- Field researcher conducting shipboard and aerial surveys for cetaceans around Bora Bora, Raiatea/Tahaa, Rangiroa and Fakarava, French Polynesia

- Assisting with necropsy on stranded Mesoplodon densirostris (Blainsville's beaked whale)

• October 1996 - November 1997:

- Principle Field Researcher for the Midway Spinner Dolphin Project, Oceanic Society Expeditions, documenting distribution and abundance, and photoidentifying individual dolphins, Midway Atoll, Northwest Hawaiian Islands, USA

• October 1996 - November 1997:

- Volunteer Field Assistant, Oceanic Society Expeditions and Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Hawaiian monk seal monitoring

• February 1996:

- Assistant Field Researcher, Amazon Dolphin Project, Oceanic Society Expeditions, documenting behavior patterns, abundance and distribution of Inia geoffrensis and Sotalia fluviatilis, and photoidentifying individuals, Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, Amazon River, Peru

• March 1993 - December 1994:

- Principle Field Researcher for the Belize Dolphin Project, Oceanic Society Expeditions, documenting distribution and abundance of Tursiops truncatus (bottlenose dolphins), and photoidentifying individuals in Turneffe Reef Atoll

- Field Biologist, documenting the behavior patterns and disturbance levels of a solitary Tursiops at Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize, Central America

• August 1992 - March 1993:

- Field Researcher, Cetacean Behavior Lab, San Diego State University, conducting land-based surveys to observe focal group behavior of Tursiops truncatus, San Diego, California, USA

• September - December 1991:

- Volunteer, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Center, Marine Mammal Division, assisting with cataloging procedures for photoidentified Tursiops truncatus in Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida, USA

- Volunteer Field Assistant, University of Miami, collecting sighting information on manatees for the Manatee Observation Project, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

• July - August 1991:

                    - Student Field Assistant, School For Field Studies, assisting with boat based observations of Tursiops                         truncatus,   and cataloging identification photographs, Beaufort, North Carolina, USA

Research Interests

I knew from the time that I was 14 years old that I wanted to study dolphin behavior. My dream was to live on a tropical island where I didn’t have to lock my door, where I knew everyone’s names, and where my main objective was to observe free-ranging dolphins. When I was 24, I fulfilled this dream when Oceanic Society Expeditions sent me to live in Belize and conduct research on bottlenose dolphins. I spent two years in Belize studying bottlenose dolphins, 13 months on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands studying spinner dolphins, and five months in Moorea, French Polynesia studying rough-toothed dolphins, spinner dolphins and humpback whales.

Personal

Areas of Interest:

• SCUBA diving
• Sailing
• Hiking
• Photography
• Observing Animals of all shapes and sizes

Recent Publications

Bilgre, B. A., C. Graham, K. M. Dudzinski, B. Wursig & R. H. Defran. 1993.

Bottlenose dolphins in Turneffe Atoll, Belize. Abstract presented at the 10th

Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Galveston, TX.

 

Bilgre, B.A. November 1994. Dolphin Oasis. Belize Review Magazine,

Belize City, Belize.

 

Bilgre, B. A., C. Graham & R. H. Defran. 1995. Photoidentification of bottlenose

dolphins in Turneffe Atoll, Belize. Abstract presented at the 11th Biennial

Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Orlando, FL, USA.

 

Bilgre, B. A. 1998. Occurrence, site fidelity, distribution

and association patterns of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

in the southern portion of Turneffe Reef Atoll, Belize. Master's thesis.

San Diego State University, San Diego, California. 115pp.

 

Campbell, G., B. A. Bilgre, and R. H. Defran. 1996. Residence and social affiliation patterns

of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Turneffe Atoll, Belize Abstract.

Sixth Biennial Conference of the American Cetacean Society, San Pedro, California.

Poster Presentation.

 

Myvett, G., B. A. Bilgre, and A. M. Sanders. 1996. Overview of cetaceans in Belize. Abstract.

XXI Reunión Internacional para el estudio de los Mamiferos Marinos, Chetumal, Quintana Roo,

Mexico. Poster presentation. Frohoff, T. G., B. A. Bilgre, A. M. Sanders, and K. M. Dudzinski.

1995. Behavioral analysis of a lone, sociable dolphin in Belize. Abstract. Eleventh Biennial Conference

on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Orlando, Florida. Poster Presentation.

Last updated on Friday, February 2, 1996.