Drones Used to Identify Pregnant Dolphins
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Researchers have found a way to remotely determine if protected female bottlenose dolphins are expecting a calf using aerial photos taken from drones.
By measuring the body width of the cetaceans captured in the aerial images the scientists can establish which females in the group are pregnant.
[...] Scientists from the University have been monitoring the bottlenose dolphin population that uses the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation for more than 30 years.
For this study the researchers compared the aerial images to information from this long-term study including whether the females had had a calf and their age.
Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences Dr. Barbara Cheney, who is based at the University's Lighthouse Field Station, explains: "Previously we only knew if female bottlenose dolphins were pregnant if they were later seen with a calf. As a result, we only knew about successful pregnancies, and didn't know how many pregnancies failed or how many calves died before we saw them.
"The main aim of the study was to explore whether we could remotely determine pregnancy status from aerial photographs taken using an unoccupied aerial system or drone.
Journal Reference:
Barbara J. Cheney, Julian Dale, Paul M. Thompson, et al. Spy in the sky: a method to identify pregnant small cetaceans, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (2022). DOI: 10.1002/rse2.258
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