W HALE P HOTO - I DENTIFICATION By: Amber Sheridan
W HEN I T ALL B EGAN … Whale photo-identification studies first began in the 1960s and 1970s. Black and white film. Evaluated negatives by magnifying them with microscopes. Matched them up. Helped to distinguish different individuals in a species.
W HAT IS W HALE P HOTO -I DENTIFICATION ? Photo Identification is a primary method for studying whales. “By photographing unique physical characteristics of the whale, such as dorsal fin shape and body coloration patterns, researchers are able to tell individuals apart within a population of a particular species.”(about.com)
Once a sighting record is established for an individual whale, researchers can study their movements, feeding patterns, migration, life span, age of maturity along with population estimates
H OW THEY GET THEIR NAMES …
H UMPBACK W HALES Diving without Fluking Photograph underwater lateral pigmentation shots. Distinct patterns
B OTTLE - N OSE D OLPHIN
B OTTLENOSE D OLPHIN
W HALE S HARK
N O F LUKE ? ~Silver~ *Venus*
W ORK C ITED Photo Protocol.pdf www. whale research.org/humpback_researchmethods.htm marinelife.about.com/od/watchingand photography /a/ photoid.htm photo-id.html dolphins.htm