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New research allows scientists to calucate whale weight from drone images

By taking aerial images, researchers in the Valdes Peninsula (Argentina) have been able to use the length, width and height measurements of Southern Right Whales to develop a model that will allow for the calculation of the body mass and volume of whales.


As this data has historically been absent from ecological studies of whales due to the difficulty of obtaining it in live specimen, it is expected that the development will open up new avenues of whale research. Scientists already intend to use the model to assess growths rates of calves in the wild, establish the caloric requirements of Southern Right Whales and monitor the impacts of stressors such as gull harassment, entanglement and marine traffic on whale body composition.


Previously, the only way to get a precise measurement of whale mass was by weighing stranded individuals. This was inherently inaccurate due to the changes in body composition caused by the stranding itself. It is expected that the model will be adapted to suit smaller cetacean species such as dolphins and porpoises, which will in turn allow for non-invasive measurements of their body masses also.

A Southern Right Whale swimming alongside her calf









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