{"id":18810,"date":"2020-07-01T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/researchers-building-a-specialized-drone-to-study-dolphins-in-the-wild\/"},"modified":"2020-07-01T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T14:00:00","slug":"researchers-building-a-specialized-drone-to-study-dolphins-in-the-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/researchers-building-a-specialized-drone-to-study-dolphins-in-the-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"#Researchers building a specialized drone to study dolphins in the wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Researchers building a specialized drone to study dolphins in the wild<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\n The only way to learn about the sensory abilities of dolphins is with the help of trained dolphins. Credit: Dolphin Quest, CC BY-ND
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Human actions have taken a steep toll on whales and dolphins. Some studies estimate that small whale abundance, which includes dolphins, has fallen 87% since 1980 and thousands of whales die from rope entanglement annually. But humans also cause less obvious harm. Researchers have found changes in the stress levels, reproductive health and respiratory health of these animals, but this valuable data is extremely hard to collect.<\/p>\n

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To better understand how people influence the overall health of dolphins, my colleagues and I at Oklahoma State University’s Unmanned Systems Research Institute are developing a drone to collect samples from the spray that comes from their blowholes. Using these samples, we will learn more about these animals’ health, which can aid in their conservation.<\/p>\n

The old ways vs. the new way<\/b>
\nToday, researchers wanting to measure wild dolphins’ health primarily use remote biopsy darting\u2014where researchers use a small dart to collect a sample of tissue\u2014or handle the animals in order to collect samples. These methods don’t physically harm the animals, but despite precautions, they can be disruptive and stressful for dolphins. Additionally, this process is challenging, time-consuming and expensive.
\nMy current research focus is on dolphin perception \u2013 how they see, hear and sense the world. Using my experience, I am part of a team building a drone specifically designed to be an improvement over current sampling methods, both for dolphins and the researchers. Our goal is to develop a quiet drone that can fly into a dolphin’s blind spot and collect samples from the mucus that is mixed with water and air sprayed out of a dolphin’s blowhole when they exhale a breath. This is called the blow. Dolphins would experience less stress and teams could collect more samples at less expense.<\/p>\n

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\n Researchers work with trained dolphins to learn more about their sensory abilities, seen here testing a dolphin\u2019s hearing. Credit: Jason Bruck, CC BY-ND
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Some researchers already use drones to sample blows from large and small whales. But those animals are not easily startled and have huge blow fields that throw droplets far into the air and linger for a long time. Dolphin blows spray seawater, air and hormone-containing mucus from their blowholes at nearly 200 mph and last for about 0.3 seconds. Additionally, dolphins may have better hearing than humans and have eyes on both sides of their head that can see in both air and water. Good luck sneaking up on a dolphin. <\/p>\n

Other teams have attempted to collect samples from dolphins using commercial drones, but it seems the animals’ movements limit the success of these attempts with these devices.
\nA lot to learn from hormones<\/b>
\nWhen sampling the blow, we are looking for hormones in mucus as these can be used to gauge psychological and physiological health. We are specifically interested in hormones like cortisol and progesterone, which indicate stress levels and reproductive ability respectively, but can also help determine overall health.
\nAdditionally, blow samples can detect respiratory pathogens in the lungs or nasal passages\u2014blowholes evolved from noses after all. <\/p>\n

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