1. Population Studies
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2. Why do we study populations?
Monitor health of the ecosystem
Care for endangered species
Monitor impacts on economics, fisheries, ecotourism, etc.
Learn impacts of human development prior to building
Intrinsic values

3. How do we study populations?
Brands and external physical tags
Internal markers and tags
Radio collars and tags
Body structures
Nature cams
Citizen science

4. Brands and Physical Tags
Pros: Permanent, Can be monitored by boat or by web-cam, inexpensive, only requires one interaction with the animal
Cons: Painful for the animal, can be difficult to see from a distance, requires sighting the animal

5. Internal Markers and Tags
Pros: Won’t fall off, guarantees a definitive identification
Cons: Requires the animal to either be caught or killed, can be more expensive than a traditional external tag

6. Radio Collars and Tags
Pros: Can track an animal without sighting it, can track remotely using satellites
Cons: Most expensive, can fall off, some are short-term and need to be replaced

7. Body Structures
Pros: Useful for animals that have to surface to breathe, inexpensive, can be done over the course of their entire lives, can help monitor movements and interactions
Cons: Must sight the animal

8. Nature Cams
Pros: Observe without disturb, low-cost, have filmed evidence of behaviors and interactions, 24/7
Cons: Low range of sight

9. Citizen Science
Pros: Lots of (free) eyes to monitor the environment, easy to use monitoring websites
Cons: Not always accurate