Tracking Marine Life

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Overview A team of 40 scientists from around the world has developed a roadmap for future research of the world’s marine life that makes the best use of tracking technology. Constant advances in technology meant the underwater world could be better monitored than ever before using devices which allow individual animals to be followed as they move around the oceans. Benefits It’s a golden age for marine animal tracking studies, with a range of reliable and small electronic tags allowing us to record the lives of animals, including whales, turtles, seals and fish, for many months or even years。 Tags used in marine science research allow us to measure where animals go, how deep they dive, how fast they swim, where and when they eat and rest, and even every time they beat their tail or flippers, but the technology is also so good nowadays that sometimes scientists aren’t sure exactly what to do with the huge volumes of data they are collecting. Tags would also help scientists assess how climate change may impact iconic marine species such as whales and turtles whose distribution may change in the future. As well as conservation benefits, tagging marine animals would also allow researchers to address mysteries that have perplexed the scientific world for more than a century. Knowledge of animal movements can also help to reduce collisions between large species of whales and ships. Amongst endangered whale species, the death of just a couple animals a year due to collisions can make the difference between extinction and survival. Process Triage the most important questions in the field of movement ecology for targeted research, particularly in the case of marine species where technical advances in tagging have been especially significant. Everyone submitted their questions and then they distilled them down to the list in the paper。 By bringing together leading experts from Australia, the US, Europe and Asia，they have captured most of the most pressing issues in the field. If it’s in the paper, it’s an important question that needs addressing. Key issues to emerge included using tagging technology to help ocean conservation, for example by helping design new protected areas, showing the value of existing protected areas and helping to reduce fishery bycatch. Future Future reduction in the size of tags will allow even more species to be tracked, such as small fish and sea birds and sea turtle hatchlings.