"I learned afterwards," she says, "that somebody on board had been specially detailed to keep me in sight at all times in case I was carried away by the wind or currents. I was having such a great time doing what I love that I hadn´t thought about the dangers."

What Dudzinski loves to do is study wild dolphins. She had come to this remote place to observe dusky dolphins with a fellow doctoral student at Texas A&M University, Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez. Duskies, one of 36 dolphin species worldwide, are renowned for their acrobatic ability. They feed on large schools of anchovy, which they herd into tight balls and attack in highly coordinated maneuvers.

Dudzinski, who is researching dolphin communication, wanted to know how duskies signal who should feed and who should herd. "It seems to me that of all the creatures in the sea," she says, "only whales and dolphins collaborate so ingeniously while hunting."

This quest for scientific knowledge forms the central theme of a new large-format movie, Dolphins, produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films in association with the National Wildlife Federation. "By joining their filmmaking expertise with NWF´s conservation mission, we´re able to produce a film that hopefully will move people to take action to help protect the health of the oceans," says Christopher Palmer, president of National Wildlife Productions.

"Our goal," adds director Greg MacGillivray, "is to capture the allure of these elusive marine mammals. At the same time, Kathleen´s pursuit of her doctorate through her study of dolphin communication is the arc of the film."

That arc encompasses not only the wind-lashed waters off Patagonia, but also the light-caressed shallows of tiny Elbow Cay off the eastern coast of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. There, near the world´s third-longest barrier reef, Dudzinski studied Atlantic spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins.

To learn more about how the creatures live, the scientist devised a mobile video-acoustic system that simultaneously records dolphin behavior and vocalizations. This equipment allows her to trace the animals´ sounds--the chirps, squeaks and clicks of echolocation--to a particular dolphin in about 40 percent of her recordings. This has never been done before for dolphins in the wild.

To stay as long as possible underwater, Dudzinski trained herself to hold her breath for as long as two minutes. "As we began to make the film," she says, "I remember the cinematographers telling me what they hoped to get, and me thinking, ´Oh, sure, stay within 10 feet of the lens, don´t put my rear end to the camera and, oh, yes, have dolphins all around me. Sure!´"

The behemoth IMAX camera, in its waterproof housing, holds only three minutes of film. "But," explains coproducer Alec Lorimore, "since we shot all our material in slow motion to capture the movement and beauty of the dolphins, the film in the camera really lasted only 90 seconds. With the scientists in the sea, we´d put the camera in the water, film 90 seconds, remove the camera, replenish the film, and drop the camera for another 90 seconds. Some days we did this 10 or 12 times. To keep up with the dolphins, these film changes resembled Indianapolis Speedway pit stops."

Dudzinski relied largely on her own flipper power to keep up with the dolphins in the Caribbean, but toward the end of her research there, the filmmakers gave her an underwater electric scooter. "It was like a dance," says MacGillivray. "The dolphins would precede her, then she would lead. It was magical to witness."

Entering the realm of these marine mammals through the eyes of one young scientist and her colleague, Dolphins helps us appreciate these animals for what they really are, not for our own expectations and prejudices. "The large-screen format gives viewers an almost true-to-life experience," says Palmer.

"If the film instills in viewers a sense of awe similar to what I have often felt in the course of my work," adds Dudzinski, "then I hope that feeling evolves into a respect for the ocean and all of its creatures."

Writer Cynthia Barry lives in Maryland.

About the Scientist
To learn more about Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski, visit MacGillivray Freeman´s web site at www.dolphinsfilm.com/Scientists/Kathleen.htm. There you´ll also be able to enjoy a sound clip of dolphins recorded by the scientist.