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GLOUCESTER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — For the first time ever, Gloucester's Ocean Alliance says they have successfully used a non-invasive aerial drone method to place suction cup data-tags on whales.
Ocean Alliance announced its success tagging endangered blue and fin whales using "SnotBot" aerial drones on Wednesday. Researchers used an aerial drone method to track the whales and drop suction cup data-tags onto them. Using this method, scientists were able to safely attach tags without the need to get close to the endangered whales.
"The ability to use the aerial platform for tag deployment provides a huge step forward for the science. This method allows for tags to be attached to whales that might otherwise be difficult to approach with a boat and minimizes any disruption to their normal behaviors. This gives us an opportunity to better understand their behavior to aid in conservation efforts." said Dr. Susan Parks, whale acoustics expert and biology professor from Syracuse University.
The journal, Royal Society Open Science, outlined the new tracker deployment method. The publication said during eight days of field testing on the Gulf of California in 2022, scientists had 21 successful attachments out of 29 attempted taggings. The data suggests using the aerial method to deploy suction-cup-attached biologging tags can potentially increase tagging success rates, decrease attempt rates, and make tagging a less stressful experience for free-swimming large whales.
The tags have specialized sensors to record depth, orientation, acceleration, temperature, acoustics, and video footage.
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