Ļć½¶Ö±²„scientist takes dolphin research to new heights with UAS flights
Contact: Meg Henderson
STARKVILLE, Miss.āSeeing a dolphin leap from the oceanās surface isnāt enough for Mississippi Stateās Holley Muraco. Her research demands a closer look.
Muraco, an assistant research professor in animal and dairy sciences and scientist with the universityās Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, or MAFES, started using cutting-edge unmanned aircraft system technology, or drones, equipped with thermal imaging technology to study dolphins in their habitats. The UAS captures critical details that would be difficult, if not impossible, to see from the shore.
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A few years ago, Muraco conducted a pilot study flying drones from Cat Island to monitor sea turtles. Amazed at the detailed images of marine life the aircraftās camera could capture from the Mississippi Sound, she wondered how drones might be used to take a closer look at dolphinsā health through their movements and any observable skin abnormalities.
Through MSUās Coastal Research and Extension Center, the university partnered with Coral World in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Theater of the Sea in Florida. Using start-up funding from MAFES, Muraco captured and compared video and thermal data from dolphins in two different aquatic environments: the Virgin Islandsā crystal-clear waters and the Florida Keysā tannic, sediment-rich mangrove lagoonsāthe latter mimicking the Mississippi Soundās murky waters. Matthew Virden, an Ļć½¶Ö±²„Extension associate, graduate student and drone pilot, assisted.
āDrone piloting skills are becoming increasingly important in marine life research because they can cover larger distances in less time, collect more consistent data and reduce the disturbances and costs associated with traditional surveys,ā Virden said. āFor me, developing strong piloting skills not only facilitates collaborative studies like this, but it also supports my own long-term research goals in conservation and restoration.ā
Muraco said, āEveryone told me that flying a thermal drone over the mangroves was a waste of time because the sensors would just reflect the surface of the water and not pick up the dolphins below. But with Matthewās expertise in calibrating the sensors, we were able to see the dolphins swimming underwater, as if they were moving on a map.ā
Muraco explained that, in addition to irregular movement patterns, dolphin skin diseases are a symptom of poor general health and evidence that the waterās microbiome is imbalanced, containing more ābadā bacteria than āgood.ā In the Mississippi Sound, this bacterial imbalance occurs when rivers flush excess pollutants into the sound or after major influxes of freshwater, often from extended openings of the Bonnet CarrĆ© Spillway.
Muraco hopes to secure additional funding to replicate her current research using thermal drones in the Mississippi Sound.
āThe Mississippi Sound is the only home our estuary dolphins know. Studies have shown that the sound is likely made up of numerous smaller home ranges for different dolphin groups, which may not roam farther than their local bay. When their home becomes uninhabitable, they donāt have the option to evacuate to safer waters,ā she said.
Muraco said that robust data collection on dolphinsā movements and skin conditions would establish a baseline for monitoring changes in their health and behaviorāfor instance, in response to a major natural or human-caused disaster. Muraco sees this effort as one piece of the puzzle, illustrating the interconnections between environmental, animal and human health.Ģż
āDolphins are a ācanary in the coal mineā species. They serve as early warning signs of environmental problems and are vulnerable to many of the same illnesses that affect humans. Ultimately, everything is connected, and I look forward to one day having all the data to show that big picture,ā she said.
Learn more about MSUās Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at and the Coastal Research and Extension Center at . Find MAFES at .
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