University of Hawaiʻi
Drone technology by the University of Hawaiʻi Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) was used to document rapid weight loss in a group of distressed pygmy killer whales off Maui in 2019. The groundbreaking research by the Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) and the MMRP, which also assisted with analyzing the data, was published this month in Scientific Reports. The use of drones to document the health of marine animals, such as pygmy killer whales a rare species of dolphins could lead to better public policy to protect endangered sea life.
“This new approach opens up doors to quantify these changes in body condition, in response to not only human activity, but also larger climatic changes that the environment is posing towards these animals,” said Lars Bejder the director of MMRP, a unit in the UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology. MMRP is partnering with PWF to use drones to monitor whales and dolphins in the wild.
PWF to use drones to monitor whales and dolphins in the wild.
PWF researchers tracked six, distressed pygmy killer whales for 21 days in September 2019, after they were detected within a few hundred meters offshore of Māʻalaea Bay, Maui. Their normal habitat is about 25 miles offshore. The drone technology detected an average of 2% reduction in body weight per whale, per day, with the smallest one losing 27% of its body weight in 17 days. Two of the whales eventually stranded themselves on shore and died and then the remaining four departed the area.
“Using (unmanned aircraft systems)-photogrammetry, we were able to document the group’s deterioration over 21 days, as they were in an area not suitable for normal feeding activity,” explains
Mar 6, 2021
Pacific Whale Foundation will host its Ocean Camp: From Screen to Sea hybrid educational program for 1st through 5th graders March 15-19.
It will feature both virtual and in-person ocean engagement.
Centered around the theme “Surf the Current,” the curated weeklong session is designed to educate and inspire environmental stewards of tomorrow through daily science lessons, team-building games and other activities, expressive crafts and nature-based inquiry.
The cost of the program is $100 per student or $80 for Pacific Whale Foundation members.
The Ocean Camp session can only accommodate a maximum of 15 campers, so early registration is strongly advised.
For a camp itinerary or to sign up, visit pacificwhale.org/education/ocean-camp, call 856-8341 or email education@pacificwhale.org.
For The Maui News
During this pandemic, the Maui Visitors Bureau has pretty much reinvented our normal role of marketing to play a critical role in the ongoing educational messaging to ensure the safety and health of our community as well as our visitors.
For the majority of 2020, we shifted our strategy to crisis management in line with County of Maui, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau/Hawaii Tourism Authority, corporate and state guidance.
From March 26 to Sept. 14, our HVCB/MVB staff managed and followed up with all quarantining visitors. Over that time, we placed 250,000 calls statewide to the quarantining visitors, monitored their quarantine compliance, answered their questions and worked with authorities on quarantine violators.
Maui Whale Festival underway | News, Sports, Jobs lahainanews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lahainanews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.