General FAQ

How do I get a clearer (or closer) view?

In some colonies, the cameras are quite far from the seals making them difficult to spot and identify. Use the zoom function (the + and - buttons at the side of the image) to zoom in and better see the seals.

Where can I ask some more questions?

The best place to do this is on the Talk forum where you will be able to ask questions about specific images, or more general questions about the project with moderators, researchers, and Zooniverse team members. Don't be afraid to ask any question, and please remember to be polite and follow the Talk rules.

Why do I see a "Finished" or "Already seen" banner over the images?

If you see the "Finished" banner over the image, it means that all images have reached the required number of classifications and you need to wait for the research team to upload new ones. If you see the "Already seen" banner over the image in the classification, it means you have seen all the available images and you also need to wait for more images to be uploaded to the workflow or try a new workflow.

Where can I find more information on the species and how to classify the images?

The Field Guide tab, on the right-hand side of the screen, can give you helpful hints on identifying species, distinguishing male/female/pup, and measuring grey seals.

Grey Seal workflow FAQ

I would like to measure seals more accurately. How can I do that?

If you want to improve the accuracy of seal measurements, you can utilize the "+" and "-" buttons located on the side of the picture to zoom in and out, which will help you distinguish the seals more clearly. You should also aim to draw your line through the centre of the seal. This approach can help increase the accuracy of your measurements.

The seal is only partially visible in the image. Should I still attempt to measure it?

If you cannot see the entire seal in the image, please refrain from measuring it, as this could lead to an inaccurate measurement. It's best to focus on seals that are fully visible and laying down.

I am having difficulty distinguishing the head from the tail of the seal. What should I do?

If you are not able to distinguish the head and the tail of the seal, do not worry. As long as both ends of the seal are present in the image, you can simply draw a line connecting them. The specific orientation of the seal does not matter for this research project.

What should I do if there are no seals in the image?

Occasionally, you may come across images where no seals are visible. In such cases, simply click on the "No" option to indicate the absence of seals in the image. However, if you have a slight impression that something resembling a seal might be present but it is difficult to discern, you can always click on the "I'm not sure" option and experts will take a look.

What if I feel that my measurements are not accurate?

Each image is seen and classified by up to 10 volunteers to make sure that the measurements are strong. Do your best and bear in mind that this is a group effort. Have fun!

Where do the pictures come from?

All the pictures of this workflow have been captured in the Farne Islands and the Scilly Isles for a research project based at the Department of Biology of the University of Oxford led by Katrina Davis.

Farne Islands:

Scilly Isles:

Beginners and Experts identification workflows FAQ

What do I do with seals on the borders of the image?

Please, mark even those animals which are partly or mostly behind the margin, even if you mark only a foot or head!
Always try to click on the centre of the visible part. So if you can see only the head, click in the centre of the head.

What if I can't identify some seals in the image?

The Field Guide tab at the side of the screen can give you helpful hints on identifying species. If you are still unsure, just use the 'other' clicker tool to mark the animal which will highlight it as something we can get the experts to check.

How do I correctly identify males, females, and pups?

For some of the images, we ask you to identify if the seal is a male, female, or pup. You can find more information on how to distinguish them in the Field Guide tab at the side of your screen. If you are still unsure, just use the 'I am not sure' clicker tool to mark the animal.

What should I do with blurry/dark images?

Learning more about night-time behaviour is actually pretty cool, and is not well understood owing to the logistical difficulties involved with observing animals in remote regions at night. Please, try to classify these as best as you can. However, if it is just impossible to see the animals, please select the 'This image is too dark/blurry to classify' option and move on to the next image.

What do I do if there are no seals in the image?

This is not unusual! The cameras record seal breeding sites year-round, which includes periods when the seals are away from their breeding beaches. However, sometimes seals return outside the breeding season and we are interested in seeing when and why this occurs. So look closely as there might be a single seal sitting there. But if there are no seals in the image, simply move on to the next image. Click on 'Next' and when it asks you if you have identified all the seals in the image choose 'Yes'(which equals 0 seals).

What if there are just too many seals?

A lot of the images contain many seals. We want you to try and mark as many of them as possible but do not worry if you cannot. Just move on to the next image when you feel like you've had enough of one. We get many different people to mark each image, so all seals will be counted in the end.

What if I think I miscounted?

Don not worry! Each image is seen and classified by up to 10 volunteers to make sure the classifications are strong. Do your best and bear in mind that this is a group effort. Have fun!

Where do the images for this workflow come from?

We have many study sites throughout the world, including primary research sites in the Southern Ocean (South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula) and the North Atlantic (United Kingdom). Information on each of the colonies in these workflows is available in the RESEARCH tab and you can often learn more about an image's location by clicking the 'i' button below each photograph. The Beginners and Experts workflows are led by Catie Foley at NOAA in collaboration with Tom Hart at Oxford Brookes University.