Studying cetacean behaviour: new technological approaches and conservation applications

Nowacek, Douglas P.; Christiansen, Fredrik; Bejder, Lars; Goldbogen, Jeremy A.; Friedlaender, Ari S.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.07.019

Cited by 104 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…However, a conservative approach is recommended, as environmental factors, flight parameters, and aircraft specifications can lower the effective resolution [10]. In addition to photogrammetry and censuses, we support the idea that they can provide high-quality video of marine mammal behavior in a non-invasive way [17,32], and from a perspective that allows for the tracking of the position of the animals even when they are submerged [6].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…In particular, UAS have been proposed as a tool for marine mammal surveys, as they allow researchers to reach remote areas and observe animals from an advantageous perspective, being less invasive than standard aircraft [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Despite the challenges of operating at sea [10], UAS have been used for a number of marine mammal research applications, from abundance surveys [8,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] to the measurement of…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Marine Mammal Research

et al. 2017

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Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, are finding applications in several ecological research areas since remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) technology has ceased to be a military prerogative. Fixed-wing RPA have been tested for line transect aerial surveys of geographically dispersed marine mammal species. Despite many advantages, their systematic use is far from a reality. Low altitude, long endurance systems are still highly priced. Regulatory bodies also impose limitations while struggling to cope with UAS rapid technological evolution. In contrast, small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS have become increasingly affordable but lack the flight endurance required for long-range aerial surveys. Although this issue and civil aviation regulations prevent the use of VTOL UAS for marine mammal abundance estimation on a large scale, recent studies have highlighted other potential applications. The present note represents a general overview on the use of UAS as a survey tool for marine mammal studies. The literature pertaining to UAS marine mammal research applications is considered with special concern for advantages and limitations of the survey design. The use of lightweight VTOL UAS to collect marine mammal behavioral data is also discussed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Marine Mammal Research

et al. 2017

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“…UAVs are rapidly transforming the way scientists collect information on their study species (Christie et al, 2016;Lowman and Voirin, 2016;Nowacek et al, 2016;Duffy et al, 2017). In whale research, UAVs have enabled sampling methods to be refined and have eliminated the need for close vessel approaches.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, the flight time for this UAV is 15 min, restricting the number of opportunities for sampling before the UAV must return to the vessel in order to replace the battery. Flight time will increase as battery technology progresses (Nowacek et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…UAV applications now extend to the polar regions where they have been used to monitor and estimate abundance of penguin populations (gentoo, Pygoscelis papua, and chinstrap, Pygoscelis antarctica) and estimate size and condition of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) (Goebel et al, 2015;Ratcliffe et al, 2015). In the marine environment, UAVs are revolutionizing the way marine species can be studied due to their small size, apparent minimal disturbance of wildlife and improved safety for both operators and animals (Nowacek et al, 2016;Fiori et al, 2017). UAVs have been utilized for a wide variety of applications including aerial surveys, monitoring, habitat use, abundance estimates, photogrammetry and biological sampling e.g., whale "blow" (Hogg et al, 2009;Acevedo-Whitehouse et al, 2010;Hodgson et al, 2013;Durban et al, 2015;Pomeroy et al, 2016;Schofield et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Economical Custom-Built Drone for Assessing Whale Health

Pirotta

Smith²,

Ostrowski

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have huge potential to improve the safety and efficiency of sample collection from wild animals under logistically challenging circumstances. Here we present a method for surveying population health that uses UAVs to sample respiratory vapor, 'whale blow,' exhaled by free-swimming humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), and coupled this with amplification and sequencing of respiratory tract microbiota. We developed a low-cost multirotor UAV incorporating a sterile petri dish with a remotely operated 'blow' to sample whale blow with minimal disturbance to the whales. This design addressed several sampling challenges: accessibility; safety; cost, and critically, minimized the collection of atmospheric and seawater microbiota and other potential sources of sample contamination. We collected 59 samples of blow from northward migrating humpback whales off Sydney, Australia and used high throughput sequencing of bacterial ribosomal gene markers to identify putative respiratory tract microbiota. Model-based comparisons with seawater and dronecaptured air demonstrated that our system minimized external sources of contamination and successfully captured sufficient material to identify whale blow-specific microbial taxa. Whale-specific taxa included species and genera previously associated with the respiratory tracts or oral cavities of mammals (e.g., Pseudomonas, Clostridia, Cardiobacterium), as well as species previously isolated from dolphin or killer whale blowholes (Corynebacteria, others). Many examples of exogenous marine species were identified, including Tenacibaculum and Psychrobacter spp. that have been associated with the skin microbiota of marine mammals and fish and may include pathogens. This information provides a baseline of respiratory tract microbiota profiles of contemporary whale health. Customized UAVs are a promising new tool for marine megafauna research and may have broad application in cost-effective monitoring and management of whale populations worldwide.

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Tracking and Monitoring Fin Whales Offshore Northwest Spain Using Passive Acoustic Methods

Fisher,

Minshull,

White

et al. 2023

Noisy Oceans

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Fin whales produce regular vocalizations with a dominant frequency of c. 20 Hz, similar to that of large airgun sources used in marine seismic surveys. Thus these vocalizations may be recorded on ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) or hydrophones (OBH) deployed during such surveys. We used data recorded by an array of 72 OBS/H with 4-6.5 km spacing, deployed offshore northwest Spain during June-August 2013, to study fin whale movements in this area. Whale vocalizations were identified automatically using signal processing techniques and localized using time delay estimates between several instruments. Airgun shooting took place during the deployment period, but we found no evidence for a correlation between vocalization detection rate and the presence or absence of shooting. Our analysis focused on six fin whale tracks identified during this period.Uncertainties in depth lead to poor confidence intervals, preventing effective analysis of diving behavior for the identified tracks. In the horizontal plane, the localizations had a higher degree of confidence. Use of a Kalman filter resulted in smoother tracks. Mean swim velocities range from 2 to 15 km/hr, and the animals traveled distances of 1.5-15 km in the periods analyzed.

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Studying cetacean behaviour: new technological approaches and conservation applications

Cited by 104 publications

References 90 publications

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Marine Mammal Research

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Marine Mammal Research

An Economical Custom-Built Drone for Assessing Whale Health

Tracking and Monitoring Fin Whales Offshore Northwest Spain Using Passive Acoustic Methods

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