ATLANTA - Vital scientific information about whale shark behavior, biology and ecology is being uncovered by an unlikely source - ecotourists and other citizens. Thanks to modern advancements in technology and the burgeoning field of "citizen science," new information about gregarious and mysterious whale sharks is being revealed in a study slated to publish on November 29 in BioScience.
Whale shark habitat spans the globe, making long-term research over wide geographic ranges a difficult challenge for whale shark researchers. To address this challenge, researchers harnessed modern technology, creating an online photo database called Wildbook for Whale Sharks and enlisted the help of ecotourists and citizens across the globe to upload any images of whale sharks they happened to see or encounter anywhere in the world. Photos of nearly 30,000 encounters representing 6,000 individually-identified sharks across 54 countries over 22 years has given scientists a rich data set to analyze and better understand the nature of this endangered species that has long been misunderstood and understudied.
Through this effort, researchers have now identified 20 whale shark aggregation sites globally, an increase from 13 identified prior to enlisting citizens in this scientific effort.
"This effort is increasing our knowledge of whale shark abundance and geographic range, trends in site fidelity and frequency," explained the study's lead author and Director of ECOCEAN Inc. Dr. Brad Norman. "That information is vital for prioritizing conservation areas for the species."
Analysis of the images provided data on sex-ratio bias, site fidelity and aggregation, hotspot sites, size and migration patterns of the animal--details that improve scientists' understanding of the species and help conservation efforts to protect them and their environment.
"Enlisting citizens to participate in science has helped us uncover several mysteries of the whale shark. We are piecing together a puzzle of both the ecology of this endangered species and the areas that are most critical to them," said Dr. Alistair Dove, Vice President of Research and Conservation at Georgia Aquarium, a co-author on the study.
The long-term observation project has provided enriched scientific knowledge of the species including:
- Spot patterns in whale sharks are unique and long lasting, and provide a method of individual identification through photographs.
- Some of the most populous hotspots of whale sharks include the Ningaloo Reef in Australia, the Atlantic coast of Mexico, Mozambique and the Philippines. Year-by-year observation of the population in these areas and lack of population in others suggests to researchers how illegal fishing and lack of conservation can impact aggregation.
- There is a strong male bias at the majority of sites, showing an overall 66 percent male population globally.
- For the most part, whale sharks aggregate around the same hotspots from year to year.
- Few individual whale sharks move between countries.
Engaging citizen scientists in photo-identification of whale sharks tells scientists more than the nature of the species, but also identifies an association between ecotourism activities and how they may affect the appearance and return rate of whale sharks. It can also identify how areas of high fidelity are addressing conservation techniques, showing how those techniques may be applied on a larger scale. Finally, a broader analysis of the environmental variables in the aggregation sites can inform the long-term impacts of climate change in the movement of the whale sharks.
The study's authors encourage other directed research programs using citizen science to dedicate their efforts to photo-identification sampling at times and locations separate to regular tourism activities to encourage consistency and avoid data gaps.
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ABOUT GEORGIA AQUARIUM
Georgia Aquarium is a leading 501(c) (3) non-profit organization located in Atlanta, Ga. that is Humane Certified by American Humane and accredited by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Georgia Aquarium is committed to working on behalf of all marine life through education, preservation, exceptional animal care, and research across the globe. Georgia Aquarium continues its mission each day to inspire, educate, and entertain its millions of guests about the aquatic biodiversity throughout the world through its hundreds of exhibits and tens of thousands of animals across its seven major galleries. For more information, visit georgiaaquarium.org
ABOUT ECOCEAN
ECOCEAN is a not-for-profit research organization dedicated to conserving the world's biggest fish, the whale shark. ECOCEAN scientists have been working on whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef since 1995 and have contributed to the global protection of whale sharks through reports to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). ECOCEAN also promotes conservation of whale sharks and the marine environment by engaging members of the public in its ongoing "citizen science" projects. ECOCEAN was instrumental in setting up the world's largest whale shark photo-identification library, the Wildbook for Whale Sharks, which encourages members of the public to get involved in whale shark research by submitting their photos. For more information, visit http://www.whaleshark.org.au. Media inquiries contact: Brad Norman, brad@whaleshark.org, ph. 61-414-953-627.
Journal
BioScience