Research
About the research project
Measuring Bottlenose Dolphins is part of an MSc research project which aims to explore whether volunteers can provide accurate and repeatable measurements from dolphin photographs. We will be comparing your results from this activity against other volunteers with various levels of experience, from primary school level to expert observations.
Using laser points to measure dolphin body sizes
We are currently using green laser pointers attached to cameras to more accurately measure dolphin body sizes. The projected dots provide us with a scale so that we can work out the dolphins total body size. Working out dolphin body sizes allows us to assess indices of health such as the growth and health status for this population which may also help us to conserve them better in the future. By using the coordinates from your clicks we can measure and work out the entire body length of each dolphin.
So how does this help us?
We currently have thousands of photographs in need of analysis and only one scientist to work through them all! This is taking up valuable time and so we would eventually like your help to speed up this process.
In this activity you will be provided with 10 images of dolphins. We already have estimates of the body sizes of all 10 dolphins in order to compare your results from this activity. You can help by clicking on 4 points for each one of the dolphins. These are the only 4 measurements we need from you in order for us to work out dolphin body sizes.
Your results will allow us to assess the accuracy of different groups (for example between primary school and university students). Not only will we be making comparisons between different groups but will also be comparing your results against expert measurements. In the future we hope to use volunteers to assist us in our research.
Citizen scientists
That's you! We need members of the general public or "citizen scientists" to volunteer in scientific work like this one. Citizen science not only drives meaningful scientific research but hopefully provides clear, interesting and informative information to the volunteers. Professional scientists are actively encouraging volunteers to participate in scientific studies in an attempt to tackle larger data sets. This is one of many citizen led projects seeking help from members of the general public.
Conservation in action!
Our research focuses on a resident population of around 200 bottlenose dolphins living in the Moray Firth in the North-East of Scotland, UK.
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are found worldwide and inhabit both oceanic and coastal waters, bringing them into constant contact with a variety of human activities.
Today, the bottlenose dolphin is a protected species and plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity, ecosystem processes and functions. They are also a vital part of the food web. With your help, we can raise global awareness and learn more about marine mammals.
With every click you are contributing to valuable scientific research. Thank you for your help!