Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery
Large-bodied animals such as baleen whales can now be detected with very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, allowing for scientific studies of whales in remote and inaccessible areas where traditional survey methods are limited or impractical. Here we present the first study of baleen whales u...
Published in: | Marine Mammal Science |
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Language: | English |
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2018
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Online Access: | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/1/Cubaynes_et_al_2018_Marine_Mammal_Science.pdf |
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:425986 2023-07-30T04:02:31+02:00 Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery Cubaynes, Hannah C. Fretwell, Peter T. Bamford, Connor Gerrish, Laura Jackson, Jennifer A. 2018-10-27 text https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/1/Cubaynes_et_al_2018_Marine_Mammal_Science.pdf en English eng https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/1/Cubaynes_et_al_2018_Marine_Mammal_Science.pdf Cubaynes, Hannah C., Fretwell, Peter T., Bamford, Connor, Gerrish, Laura and Jackson, Jennifer A. (2018) Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery. Marine Mammal Science, 1-26. (doi:10.1111/mms.12544 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12544>). cc_by_4 Article PeerReviewed 2018 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12544 2023-07-09T22:26:12Z Large-bodied animals such as baleen whales can now be detected with very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, allowing for scientific studies of whales in remote and inaccessible areas where traditional survey methods are limited or impractical. Here we present the first study of baleen whales using the WorldView-3 satellite, which has a maximum spatial resolution of 31 cm in the panchromatic band, the highest currently available to nonmilitary professionals. We manually detected, described, and counted four different mysticete species: fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Ligurian Sea, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Hawaii, southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Península Valdés, and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in Laguna San Ignacio. Visual and spectral analyses were conducted for each species, their surrounding waters, and nonwhale objects (e.g., boats). We found that behavioral and morphological differences made some species more distinguishable than others. Fin and gray whales were the easiest to discern due to their contrasting body coloration with surrounding water, and their prone body position, which is proximal to the sea surface (i.e., body parallel to the sea surface). These results demonstrate the feasibility of using VHR satellite technology for monitoring the great whales. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera physalus baleen whales Megaptera novaeangliae University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Marine Mammal Science 35 2 466 491 |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
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ftsouthampton |
language |
English |
description |
Large-bodied animals such as baleen whales can now be detected with very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, allowing for scientific studies of whales in remote and inaccessible areas where traditional survey methods are limited or impractical. Here we present the first study of baleen whales using the WorldView-3 satellite, which has a maximum spatial resolution of 31 cm in the panchromatic band, the highest currently available to nonmilitary professionals. We manually detected, described, and counted four different mysticete species: fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Ligurian Sea, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Hawaii, southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Península Valdés, and gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in Laguna San Ignacio. Visual and spectral analyses were conducted for each species, their surrounding waters, and nonwhale objects (e.g., boats). We found that behavioral and morphological differences made some species more distinguishable than others. Fin and gray whales were the easiest to discern due to their contrasting body coloration with surrounding water, and their prone body position, which is proximal to the sea surface (i.e., body parallel to the sea surface). These results demonstrate the feasibility of using VHR satellite technology for monitoring the great whales. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cubaynes, Hannah C. Fretwell, Peter T. Bamford, Connor Gerrish, Laura Jackson, Jennifer A. |
spellingShingle |
Cubaynes, Hannah C. Fretwell, Peter T. Bamford, Connor Gerrish, Laura Jackson, Jennifer A. Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery |
author_facet |
Cubaynes, Hannah C. Fretwell, Peter T. Bamford, Connor Gerrish, Laura Jackson, Jennifer A. |
author_sort |
Cubaynes, Hannah C. |
title |
Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery |
title_short |
Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery |
title_full |
Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery |
title_fullStr |
Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery |
title_full_unstemmed |
Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery |
title_sort |
whales from space: four mysticete species described using new vhr satellite imagery |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/1/Cubaynes_et_al_2018_Marine_Mammal_Science.pdf |
genre |
Balaenoptera physalus baleen whales Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera physalus baleen whales Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_relation |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/425986/1/Cubaynes_et_al_2018_Marine_Mammal_Science.pdf Cubaynes, Hannah C., Fretwell, Peter T., Bamford, Connor, Gerrish, Laura and Jackson, Jennifer A. (2018) Whales from space: four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery. Marine Mammal Science, 1-26. (doi:10.1111/mms.12544 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12544>). |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12544 |
container_title |
Marine Mammal Science |
container_volume |
35 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
466 |
op_container_end_page |
491 |
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1772813335124770816 |