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Using flukes to identify humpbacks

8/17/2019

1 Comment

 
By Shelby Rosten

One of the primary methods we use to collect data on the humpback whales in the Gulf of Chiriqui is taking photos of their tails. Each humpback has a unique pattern on its flukes that can be used to identify it year after year. While out in the field we take pictures of as many flukes as we can, which can be challenging because humpbacks don’t fluke every time they dive.
​
When we get back to the lab, Kristin edits the pictures by cropping them and adjusting the brightness so all of the features stand out. First, I compare the flukes to all those already seen this season. So far, we have seen 70 individual whales and six of them have been seen on two days! After that, I compare all new flukes to the catalog which contains 778 individuals. Some matches are really easy…
Picture
Photo from 27 July. Individual (Temp ID 004) from a competitive group.
Picture
Photo of a whale from our catalog, seen in previous years
​And some are tricky...
Picture
Photo from 31 July. Temp ID 048
Picture
Photo from the catalog, seen in previous years
Using these data, we can estimate the size of the population of whales that come to the Gulf of Chiriqui to breed. Additionally, these photos are shared with scientists working all along the Pacific coast of the Americas and Antarctica to see where else these whales go. Whales seen here have also been observed in feeding grounds off the coast of Antarctica and Chile as well as adjacent breeding grounds in Central and South America.
1 Comment
Sharon link
8/19/2019 06:56:40 am

Good information. Sounds like a lot of time spent at the computer comparing photos. Love whales. Hope we as a country would put more effort into saving the whales.

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  • Panacetacea
  • Who we are
    • Research Team
    • Students
    • Colleagues
    • Cooperation
    • Gallery
  • Blog
    • Humpback Whales 2022
    • Humpback Whales 2021
    • Humpback Whales Summer 2019
    • Humpback Whales Summer 2018
    • Humpback Whale Winter 2018
    • Humpback Whales 2017
    • Humpback Blog 2015
    • Humpback Blog 2014
    • BlogBocasDolphin 2014
    • Summer 2013 Blog
    • Summer 2012Blog
  • Programs
    • Monitoring Program >
      • Humpback Whale Project
      • Dolphins of Bocas del Toro Project
      • Dolphins of Changuinola & Gandoca Project
      • Dolphins of Gulf of Chiriqui Project
      • Cetaceans of Iguana Island Project
      • Central American Marine Biodiversity Acoustic Surveillance Network
      • Stranding and Rescue Network
    • Education and Outreach Program >
      • Education >
        • Internships
      • Outreach
    • Ocean Science Program >
      • Whale-Watching
      • Bocas Study Case
      • Research Permits and Whale-Watching Licenses
  • Donors & Grants
  • Small Grants Program
  • How to help
  • Documents
    • Peer Reviewed Publications
    • Documents for the Public
  • News
  • Store
  • Contact us