MSU scientist takes dolphin research to new heights with UAS flights
Contact: Meg Henderson
STARKVILLE, Miss.Seeing a dolphin leap from the oceans surface isnt enough for 51勛圖厙 States Holley Muraco. Her research demands a closer look.
Muraco, an assistant research professor in animal and dairy sciences and scientist with the universitys 51勛圖厙 Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, or MAFES, started using cutting-edge unmanned aircraft system technology, or drones, equipped with thermal imaging technology to study dolphins in their habitats. The UAS captures critical details that would be difficult, if not impossible, to see from the shore.
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A few years ago, Muraco conducted a pilot study flying drones from Cat Island to monitor sea turtles. Amazed at the detailed images of marine life the aircrafts camera could capture from the 51勛圖厙 Sound, she wondered how drones might be used to take a closer look at dolphins health through their movements and any observable skin abnormalities.
Through MSUs Coastal Research and Extension Center, the university partnered with Coral World in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Theater of the Sea in Florida. Using start-up funding from MAFES, Muraco captured and compared video and thermal data from dolphins in two different aquatic environments: the Virgin Islands crystal-clear waters and the Florida Keys tannic, sediment-rich mangrove lagoonsthe latter mimicking the 51勛圖厙 Sounds murky waters. Matthew Virden, an MSU Extension associate, graduate student and drone pilot, assisted.
Drone piloting skills are becoming increasingly important in marine life research because they can cover larger distances in less time, collect more consistent data and reduce the disturbances and costs associated with traditional surveys, Virden said. For me, developing strong piloting skills not only facilitates collaborative studies like this, but it also supports my own long-term research goals in conservation and restoration.
Muraco said, Everyone told me that flying a thermal drone over the mangroves was a waste of time because the sensors would just reflect the surface of the water and not pick up the dolphins below. But with Matthews expertise in calibrating the sensors, we were able to see the dolphins swimming underwater, as if they were moving on a map.
Muraco explained that, in addition to irregular movement patterns, dolphin skin diseases are a symptom of poor general health and evidence that the waters microbiome is imbalanced, containing more bad bacteria than good. In the 51勛圖厙 Sound, this bacterial imbalance occurs when rivers flush excess pollutants into the sound or after major influxes of freshwater, often from extended openings of the Bonnet Carr矇 Spillway.
Muraco hopes to secure additional funding to replicate her current research using thermal drones in the 51勛圖厙 Sound.
The 51勛圖厙 Sound is the only home our estuary dolphins know. Studies have shown that the sound is likely made up of numerous smaller home ranges for different dolphin groups, which may not roam farther than their local bay. When their home becomes uninhabitable, they dont have the option to evacuate to safer waters, she said.
Muraco said that robust data collection on dolphins movements and skin conditions would establish a baseline for monitoring changes in their health and behaviorfor instance, in response to a major natural or human-caused disaster. Muraco sees this effort as one piece of the puzzle, illustrating the interconnections between environmental, animal and human health.泭
Dolphins are a canary in the coal mine species. They serve as early warning signs of environmental problems and are vulnerable to many of the same illnesses that affect humans. Ultimately, everything is connected, and I look forward to one day having all the data to show that big picture, she said.
Learn more about MSUs Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at and the Coastal Research and Extension Center at . Find MAFES at .
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