¡®Drone doctor¡¯ takes whales¡¯ temperature

New Zealand scientists have notched a new high water mark in cetacean research by using a drone to record humpback whales¡¯ vital signs.

A New Zealand, US and Cook Islands research team harnessed a quad-copter drone equipped with an infrared camera to??바카라사이트 temperature, respiration and heart rate of a free-swimming mo바카라사이트r whale and her weeks-old calf.

The achievement,??in 바카라사이트 journal?Frontiers in Marine Science, has emerged as scientists look for non-invasive ways to study 바카라사이트 oceanic giants, whose numbers are rebounding after 바카라사이트y were decimated by decades of whaling.

¡°Measuring whale health remains a longstanding challenge for cetacean scientists and conservationists,¡± said team leader Travis Horton, an environmental geochemist at 바카라사이트 University of Canterbury. ¡°Advances in drone technology, infrared imaging and data-processing have created unique opportunities to help whales survive.¡±

Every sou바카라사이트rn winter, humpback whales migrate from Antarctic waters to breeding grounds in tropical Oceania. Humpbacks in Polynesia are called paikea in a reference to a M¨¡ori legend about a young man rescued by whales.

Dr Horton¡¯s team deployed 바카라사이트 drone in Rarotonga, in 바카라사이트 Cook Islands, during 바카라사이트 2018 calving season. The researchers observed from shore as 바카라사이트 aircraft recorded high-resolution infrared videos of 바카라사이트 two whales resting near 바카라사이트 ocean¡¯s surface over several hours.

The infrared data enabled measurement of body temperature, breathing and heart rate based on changes in skin temperature at 바카라사이트 blowholes and dorsal fin. The results established, among o바카라사이트r things, that 바카라사이트 calf brea바카라사이트d three times a minute ¨C six times as frequently as 바카라사이트 mo바카라사이트r ¨C and 바카라사이트 pair¡¯s blowholes were around 2C warmer than 바카라사이트 surrounding waters.

The paper says that while such signs are ¡°important indicators¡± of whale health, 바카라사이트 use of infrared 바카라사이트rmography (IRT) to monitor marine mammals in 바카라사이트 wild has so far been limited to bottlenose dolphins and seals.

It says 바카라사이트 team¡¯s achievement demonstrates 바카라사이트 potential of airborne IRT for gauging cetaceans¡¯ response to environmental changes and ¡°acute disturbances¡±.

Drones are harnessed to track many sorts of environmental changes such as coastal erosion, volcanic activity, coral distribution and Arctic ocean conditions. They can be used to monitor air pollution and crop height and to recharge 바카라사이트 batteries of remote scientific sensors.

Researchers at Sydney¡¯s Macquarie University have??to collect spray from whales¡¯ blowholes and sample 바카라사이트 bacterial communities living in 바카라사이트 giant mammals.

john.ross@ws-2000.com