WILDLABS logo

WILDLABS logo

Group

Marine Conservation / Feed

Bringing together many of our community's tech types like bioacoustics, biologging, drones, remote sensing, machine learning, and more, the Marine Conservation group is a meeting point to begin innovative collaborations and answer difficult questions.

discussion

Sea turtle identification through pattern matching

Kate West

2 July 2016 8:58am

This week I have been attending the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Conference in Singapore. Although marine conservation is not the main objective of the...

7 0
Stephanie O'Donnell

18 July 2016 9:19am

Hi Nazirul, 

That is so interesting! My assumption was that you would be using the shell markings as the ID, I hadn't even considered that the facial and fin markings would be a more useful way to diferentiate individuals. I would have thought that getting a look at a turtle's shell would be easier than taking a photo that shows the fins or face in enough detail to analyse - is this not the case? Or do you use the facial scale patterns because the shells do not differ enough between individuals?

I'm also keen to hear more now about your methodology. How to you take your observations? If you're using pattern recognition software and Wildbook, you must be taking photos. Are these remotely triggered (i.e. underwater camera traps), or are they from photos taken by divers or people there monitoring in person? 

Kate's link above doesn't seem to be working for me, is there a website we can visit to find out more? 

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Steph

Stephanie O'Donnell

18 July 2016 9:32am

Hi Jason, 
I've had Ibeis and Wildbook on my radar for ages and have been meaning to ask you about the two projects, so this is a neat opportunity! Could you tell us a bit more about the two projects? I have been trying to figure out how they are integrated (and also seperate - it's a bit confusing from the outside!), so I'm interested to find out more about where you hoping to take the project(s).   

Is the platform open to anyone interested in analysing images for patterns? How does it work? 

Cheers,

Steph 

Nazirul_Amin

28 September 2016 5:43am

Hi Steph,

Sorry for the late reply as I have other commitments currently. 

In our case, we are using facial scales pattern because we found out that each individual have a distinctive scutes pattern (number, position & shape) on their face. Fins pattern are usable as well for identification but due to its complexity, the chances for errors (misidentification) are greater. This however can be solved when we have a more species specific pattern recognition software which can pin-point the exact distinctive features on the fins pattern.  

Based on our findings in 2015, we found that facial and fins patterns are more reliable than the shell markings as it provided more details in identifying individuals. There are some individuals with very distinctive shell markings but unfortunetly, it does not apply to the whole population especially the juveniles. Most juveniles have almost similar shell markings. 

In Perhentian Islands, observation of sea turtles while snorkeling or diving has become an opportunity for us to conduct the study. We have a team of trained research intern who went out for snorkel survey looking out for turtles every day throughout the season. Whenever a turtle is sighted, one of the research intern will skin-dive and photograph the top view of the turtle and both sides of the face. All the photos are then brought back to the research station and analyse using the pattern recognition software. The reason why we took the top view photo is because it is easier for us to know the sex of the individual when we analysed the photos.

Sorry to tell you that our website is currently not available. We have been trying to bring it back but there is a constant virus & spyware attack. We are now reachable only by Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/perhentianturtleproject/?fref=ts

 

Regards,

Nazirul 

See full post
discussion

Blue Economy Challenge / Sustainable aquaculture for Indian Ocean developing countries

Barbara Martinez

5 March 2016 2:14am

How can technology and innovations help us ensure food security through aquaculture in developing countries while conserving oceans? The Blue Economy Challenge https://www....

3 0
Jamieson Webking

18 March 2016 12:46am

I'll be entering the Blue Economy Challege. Would be really cool to start a conversation and collaboration between community members here and others who join the challenge. What if entrants to the BEC got a link to WildLabs and invited to join this conversation after they submitted their application?

Barbara Martinez

7 April 2016 2:35am

Jamieson, this is a great idea, and although my reply is rather delayed, it is not too late for me to update the message for Blue Economy Challenge applicants! I encourage applicants to the BEC to use this space to continue the conversation about technological innovations that will transform aquaculture. 

RT

2 May 2016 11:47am

Algae technology is central to innovation to conserve biodiversity against the threats of climate change.  I am part of a global scientific group called Ocean Foresters.  Our proposed Haven Atoll system aims to use algae to help save coral biodiversity and reduce ocean acidity. We are seeking partners for the Blue Economy Aquaculture Challenge.

In the northern section of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, 95% of the coral is damaged or dead from excessive ocean heat. Coral bleaching is not limited to Australia, but is occurring in every ocean around the world. CO2 emissions are the cause of the crisis, but the real problem now is that emission reductions alone are just too slow to prevent catastrophic biodiversity loss. Immediate steps are needed to reduce the heat, acidity and nutrients that are killing our reefs. Algae is the key to save reefs by providing cooler and cleaner water in atolls. As Dr Tim Flannery argues in his 2015 book Atmosphere of Hope, the Ocean Foresters have presented compelling argument that large scale deployment of artificial forests of seaweeds, kelps and algae is the most promising response to fixing ocean health and removing CO2. 

Ocean Foresters’ key proposal is called Haven Atolls, a system for protecting coral by growing large amounts of marine plants for fuel, food, fertilizer, fabric and fodder. Australia has the need, expertise, resources, locations and innovative culture to lead the world on Haven Atolls, targeted to the coral systems under most threat from global warming. Haven Atolls will produce fresh water, energy and algae products and protect local corals.  Our key innovation is to bring cool nutrient-rich deep ocean water to the surface and feed it into coral atolls for sustainable aquaculture and to cool the coral during heat waves, protecting against global warming. The Haven Atoll will serve as a reservoir of biodiversity to seed reefs destroyed by bleaching. Haven Atolls will serve the global agendas of supporting food security and biodiversity, and will be critical to helping achieve negative carbon emissions, as identified by world governments in the Paris Climate Agreement as necessary to keep warming below two degrees.

Time is the enemy of coral. Our magnificent reefs are dying. Many have gone extinct or will soon. Algae systems can save the reefs while developing technology for sustainable energy and food supply and beginning to remove the dangerous extra carbon that fossil fuels have added to our air and sea. We urgently need partnerships for innovation, to implement rapid practical cost-effective methods to save our precious coral reefs from the looming extinction.

See full post
discussion

How can technology help reduce manatee boat strikes?

John Probert

9 February 2016 4:42pm

I was just reading a story that was talking about how manatees are prone to boat strikes. I was wondering if there are any technologies currently available or in development that...

2 0
Neil Gunn

11 February 2016 8:16pm

Using SMART to record and map where the boat strikes (and/or sightings of injured manatees) are happening could be a good way to at least get a better idea of the problem, where it is happening and times of year etc.

Gavin Shelton

18 March 2016 5:23pm

Hi John,

Have you checked out Whale Alert? There may be some scope for applying/adapting the same technology for averting manatee strikes by applying it to the recreational boating sector.

Best regards,

Gavin

See full post