{"id":21185,"date":"2020-07-01T20:19:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T20:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=21185"},"modified":"2020-07-02T15:26:34","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T15:26:34","slug":"with-the-help-of-trained-dolphins-our-team-of-researchers-is-building-a-specialized-drone-to-help-us-study-dolphins-in-the-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/with-the-help-of-trained-dolphins-our-team-of-researchers-is-building-a-specialized-drone-to-help-us-study-dolphins-in-the-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"With the help of trained dolphins, our team of researchers is building a specialized drone to help us study dolphins in the wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jason Bruck<\/a>, Oklahoma State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Human actions have taken a steep toll on whales and dolphins. Some studies estimate that small whale abundance, which includes dolphins, has fallen 87% since 1980<\/a> and thousands of whales die from rope entanglement<\/a> annually. But humans also cause less obvious harm. Researchers have found changes in the stress levels, reproductive health and respiratory health of these animals, but this valuable data is extremely hard to collect.<\/p>\n

To better understand how people influence the overall health of dolphins, my colleagues and I<\/a> at Oklahoma State University\u2019s Unmanned Systems Research Institute<\/a> are developing a drone to collect samples from the spray that comes from their blowholes. Using these samples, we will learn more about these animals\u2019 health, which can aid in their conservation.<\/p>\n

The old ways vs. the new way<\/h2>\n

Today, researchers wanting to measure wild dolphins\u2019 health primarily use remote biopsy darting \u2013 where researchers use a small dart to collect a sample of tissue \u2013 or handle the animals in order to collect samples. These methods don\u2019t physically harm the animals, but despite precautions, they can be disruptive and stressful for dolphins. Additionally, this process is challenging, time-consuming and expensive.<\/p>\n

My current research focus is on dolphin perception<\/a> \u2013 how they see, hear and sense the world. Using my experience, I am part of a team building a drone specifically designed to be an improvement over current sampling methods, both for dolphins and the researchers. Our goal is to develop a quiet drone that can fly into a dolphin\u2019s blind spot and collect samples from the mucus that is mixed with water and air sprayed out of a dolphin\u2019s blowhole when they exhale a breath. This is called the blow. Dolphins would experience less stress and teams could collect more samples at less expense.<\/p>\n

[Get our best science, health and technology stories.<\/em> Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s science newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

Some researchers already use drones to sample blows from large and small whales<\/a>. But those animals are not easily startled and have huge blow fields that throw droplets far into the air and linger for a long time. Dolphin blows spray seawater, air and hormone-containing mucus from their blowholes at nearly 200 mph and last for about 0.3 seconds<\/a>. Additionally, dolphins may have better hearing than humans<\/a> and have eyes on both sides of their head that can see in both air and water<\/a>. Good luck sneaking up on a dolphin.<\/p>\n

Other teams have attempted to collect samples from dolphins using commercial drones, but it seems the animals\u2019 movements limit the success of these attempts with these devices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Researchers work with trained dolphins to learn more about their sensory abilities, seen here testing a dolphin\u2019s hearing.<\/span>
\nJason Bruck<\/span>, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lot to learn from hormones<\/h2>\n

When sampling the blow, we are looking for hormones in mucus as these can be used to gauge psychological and physiological health. We are specifically interested in hormones like cortisol<\/a> and progesterone<\/a>, which indicate stress levels and reproductive ability respectively, but can also help determine overall health.<\/p>\n

Additionally, blow samples can detect respiratory pathogens<\/a> in the lungs or nasal passages – blowholes evolved from noses after all.<\/p>\n

This health analysis is especially important in areas with oil spills as the chemicals can cause hormonal problems that harm development, metabolism and reproduction<\/a> in dolphins.<\/p>\n

Hormone samples can provide scientists with valuable data, but collecting them from intelligent and unpredictable animals is challenging.<\/p>\n

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Wild dolphins are fast, smart and can roam thousands of miles and disappear beneath the waves at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/span>
\nBorchee\/E+ via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cetacean collaborators<\/h2>\n

To build a drone that can stealthily collect spray from moving dolphins, we needed more data on their eyesight and hearing, and this is data that couldn\u2019t be collected in the wild nor simulated in a lab.<\/p>\n

We worked with dolphins at facilities like Dolphin Quest in Bermuda, which provides guests opportunities to learn about dolphins while allowing scientists access to animals for noninvasive research<\/a>. Here the dolphins can swim away if they choose not to work with us, so we had to design the study like a game; the way a kindergarten teacher entertains a class. If the dolphins aren\u2019t interested, we don\u2019t get to do the science.<\/p>\n

Over the course of hundreds of sessions, we sought to answer two questions: What can dolphins hear and what can they see around their heads?<\/p>\n

To test dolphin hearing, we set up microphones and cameras to record dolphin behavior as we played drone noise in the air. We analyzed the responses to each noise \u2013 such as how many dolphins looked at the speaker \u2013 and used these as a proxy for their ability to hear the sounds.<\/p>\n