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Drones Used to Identify Pregnant Dolphins

posted by janrinok on Monday February 28 2022, @03:23PM   

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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Original Submission

• just ask target just ask target (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday February 28 2022, @03:32PM (3 children)

  by Runaway1956 (2926) on Monday February 28 2022, @03:32PM (#1225587) Homepage Journal

  https://techland.time.com/2012/02/17/how-target-knew-a-high-school-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-parents/ [time.com]
  https://pages.uoregon.edu/pangburn/dsc340notes/Target-Teen-Pregancy-Forbes.pdf [uoregon.edu]
  https://www.kdnuggets.com/2014/05/target-predict-teen-pregnancy-inside-story.html [kdnuggets.com]

  --
  Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.

  • Re:just ask target Re:just ask target (Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday February 28 2022, @03:46PM (2 children)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Monday February 28 2022, @03:46PM (#1225591)

    Sorry but my news source is K-Mart.

    Parent

    • Re:just ask target Re:just ask target (Score: 1) by crm114 on Monday February 28 2022, @03:58PM (1 child)

      by crm114 (8238) on Monday February 28 2022, @03:58PM (#1225593)

      That brings a whole new meaning to "blue-light special"

      Parent

      • Re:just ask target (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 01 2022, @03:17PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 01 2022, @03:17PM (#1225857)

        I'm surprised Texas hasn't picked up on this.

        Parent

• sounds of the dolphins sounds of the dolphins (Score: 3, Funny) by looorg on Monday February 28 2022, @03:53PM (1 child)

  by looorg (578) on Monday February 28 2022, @03:53PM (#1225592)

  So all those dolphin noises people listen to for relaxation are actually dolphins telling each other yo-mama jokes about that they are so large that the humans can spot them with a drone?

  • Re:sounds of the dolphins (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday February 28 2022, @06:06PM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Monday February 28 2022, @06:06PM (#1225659)

    "No, I'm just fat, and it's a touchy subject, so just drop it. Now I'm going back to my kelp bed to eat a pint of shrimp ice cream and binge-watch Spongebob episodes."

    Parent