Evaluation of UAS for photographic re-identification of bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus

• Published in: Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems
• Main Authors: Koski, William R., Gamage, Gayan, Davis, Andrew R., Mathews, Tony, LeBlanc, Bernard, Ferguson, Steven H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2015
• Subjects: Balaena mysticetus; Greenland; Igloolik; Nunavut
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/juvs-2014-0014; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/juvs-2014-0014; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/juvs-2014-0014

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have the potential to collect high-resolution photographs of marine mammals for life-history studies without disturbing the species being studied. We conducted a pilot study near Igloolik, Nunavut, in early July 2013 to collect identification-quality photographs of bowh...