Thermal drones can track dolphin health without having to touch or disturb them

By Charlie White, PhD Candidate, Behaviour and Evolution Lab, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
Guido J. Parra, Associate Professor, Research Leader of the Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab, Flinders University

Marine mammals are sentinels of the sea. When dolphins and whales show signs of stress or illness, it often signals deeper problems in the ocean ecosystems we all depend on.

But assessing the health of dolphins and whales is notoriously difficult. That’s because they spend most of their lives underwater, move over vast areas, and cannot be examined closely without causing stress or disturbance.

Our new research provides a promising solution to this problem. Published in the Journal of Thermal Biology,…

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