Science Sunday – I Spy from the Sky

Drones Give a New Perspective for Marine Mammal Science

When researchers step onto Año Nuevo Island, they are welcomed by a deafening symphony: sea lions barking, elephant seals roaring, gulls cawing, and cormorants grunting. An individual researcher is most likely outnumbered by animals 10,000:1. To understand what is happening on the island, scientists need to count each animal—a nearly impossible task. Luckily, help has arrived in the form of an authorized research drone which has taken aerial photos of island life over the past four years. The research team has worked to measure and count animals in the drone photos by developing a citizen science platform, www.sealcount.com.

Please join Roxanne Beltran and Sarah Wood to learn about this project, see their preliminary results, and find out how you can get involved.