North Atlantic Beaked Whale Photo-ID Project – trial phase
I am writing to ask if you would be happy to submit a small number of beaked whale images from your database or image archive as part of a trial we are running until 20th October 2015. Our plan is to develop a North Atlantic Beaked Whale Photo-Identification Catalogue in collaboration with as many partners as possible, and this trial will help us understand who is willing to help and what data may be available.
The project is being led by the University of La Laguna (ULL) in collaboration with the World Cetacean Alliance and its Partners. We are asking if you could submit five images or more of beaked whales to the ULL Cetabase website at: http://www.cetabase.info/index-i.php . You will retain ownership of the images and data use and your contribution will give us vital information on the potential for further collaboration and data gathering throughout the North Atlantic.
We will then review the contributions at the World Whale Conference in the Azores, 26-27 October 2015, and provide you with a feedback report and next steps after this event.
If you can help with just a few minutes of your time to upload some images and information to Cetabase we would be extremely grateful.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch for more information or assistance with Cetabase. Once the trial is complete we will contact you again with the initial results and our next step plans to continue the project.
With best wishes,
Rebecca Boys
Email: rebecca@worldcetaceanalliance.org
Further info
Most beaked whale species remain poorly studied yet we are aware of a number of threats, including an extreme sensitivity to loud sounds. Scientific studies are also increasingly showing how site faithful beaked whales can be, so local populations could be at high risk when threatened by continual man-made impacts such as military sonar activity in specific locations.
Photo-identification of beaked whales remains an important tool for us to learn more about their distribution, movements and life history parameters. It is essential that we continue to photo-identify beaked whales and make our information available in a central resource if we are to improve our attempts to protect them and their habitats.
INSTRUCTIONS CETABASE
1. HOW TO REGISTER AS A USER
The
first step to using the resources CETABASE makes available is to register as a
user. To do this, select Collaborate in the main menu. You must fill in
a series of details and add a brief explanation of your objectives, the species
and study area.
Once registered, each time you access Cetabase you have to log in as a user. The username is your e-mail and you choose the password.
You can alter or update your details at any time via the Change My Data tab
that appears in the menu on the left.
2. PHOTO-IDENTIFICATION CATALOGUE
Cetabase offers a unique tool to create
a virtual photo-identification catalogue according to species and sighting
area, so that anyone, wherever they are in the world can create their own
catalogue and/or access the different catalogues available.
2.1 Create a new individual
To add a new individual, you enter through the menu, Individuals: New
individual.
Various fields are displayed, ready to be filled in. ALL are mandatory except for Name (Mnemo) and Observations.
¨ Code: that of the profile we create for an animal.
Example:
MdH1 = Mesoplodon densirostris sighted around El Hierro, specimen 1.
¨ Name (Mnemo): a
mnemonic that refers to a particular feature of the animal, or whatever name we
give it (e.g. Toro). This box can be left blank if no name is yet assigned to
the animal.
¨ Species: select
one the tab. If the species under study is not
on the menu, contact the administrator (via the Contact box that appears
in the main menu).
¨ Level of markings quality (M):
1 = very clean animal, free of marks.
2 = animal with some marks.
3 = animal with enough marks or other distinguishing feature (notches or
deformations on the dorsal fin that serve to identify it, even if not so many body markings).
4 = heavily marked animal, many scars.
¨ Level of photos quality (Q):
1 = EXCELLENT.
Clear, focussed, well lit image, with the animal
in parallel, close, without water marks or reflected sunshine. The scars and
marks, if any, are clearly visible to perfection.
2 = GOOD.
Picture less clear, most of the marks and/or
scarring can be clearly distinguished. May present some 'shine', water marks
(splash drops, reflections). Can be used for PhotoID.
3 = REGULAR. We cannot clearly distinguish all the marks of the animal. This may be
because of glare, poor lighting, water marks, pixellated or blurred image and
even a rotated position of the animal, preventing clear observation of all the
area to assess. May be used in PhotoID, but not in population analysis.
4 = VERY POOR QUALITY. The marks and special characteristics of the animal
(e.g. shape of the fin) are NOT distinguishable due to being backlit, blurred,
or too far away. NOT usable for PhotoID, so
it would be better not to include the photo unless it is the only
picture we have of that animal.
¨
Type: the following
types of beaked whales are distinguished:
o
Male: teeth visible, numerous scars:
o
Female: Adult size, no teeth and few or some scars.
Sighted on at least two separate occasions with a calf.
o
Indeterminate: Adult-length
animals whose gender is impossible to distinguish due to the lack of markings
or absence of associated calves. They may be adult females not associated with
calves, or sub-adult animals of either sex.
o
Juvenile: An individual
with a total length about two-thirds adult size, few scars and more homogeneous
colouration than adult or indeterminate animals. It
may appear swimming near an
adult or independently.
o
Calf: Length about half the adult size. Sometimes
with foetal marks on the body, remaining in the first month of life and little
or no scarring. Normally closely associated with another individual.
¨ Mother and calf: It
is very important to remember to check this box when we are adding a
female or calf/juvenile. In Observations you can indicate the association female-calf/juvenile concerned.
¨ Observations: This field is optional. Use
it to add any clarification or important aspect you want to emphasize.
Once the form is
completed, click Create. You can
only add photos once the individual's profile is ‘created’.
~
2.2 Insert a photograph
In the main menu select Individuals: Photo Management. This option allows you to find the
individual you are interested in, by selecting one or more headings to narrow
the search: name, species, area, type,
etc.
A list of individuals will be generated according to the criteria you
have selected. Just select and click on the code of the individual you want to
manage:
Example: MdH100 Luna.
By clicking on the code for the individual, the identification file-card
opens:
Each profile contains all the
information on the individual: code, name, species, type, the entity adding it,
and photos that identify the animal with their photo (Q) and mark quality (M).
There are different models of cards according to species:
- For photo-identification of beaked whales, pictures of the three
body regions (upper, middle, and caudal/tail) on the right and left sides are
necessary. So, for each individual there will be a total of 6 body-zones:
Upper-left / Upper-right
Mid-left / Mid-right
Caudal-left / Caudal-right
- For dolphins
and pilot whales: photos of the dorsal fin from both sides.
- For humpback and sperm whales:
photos of the tail fin taken when they lift it out of the water before diving.
In addition, for each species a close-up photo can be added to highlight some
distinguishing feature, and a diagram illustrating the pattern of its markings.
To add such an extra image, for example of the upper-left third, you click on
that body-zone and it immediately opens a window to load the photo.
IMPORTANT: Please upload photos of good quality only,
less than 500 KB and with an acceptable resolution (at least 800x600).
Remember that the file-name should not contain symbols like accents etc.:
"á, %, or +". In these cases, the photo will NOT be loaded.
For each uploaded photo, these details must be filled in:
§ Photo Quality (Q)
§ Quality of Marks
(M)
§ Date Taken
§ Comments: optional
2.3 Change or delete a photo.
Modify Q and M
If you want to
delete or change a picture, or modify its quality (Q) or that of the markings
(M), click on the Change box at the top right of the photo.
2.4 Change/Delete
individuals
This option allows you to delete individuals or modify their details. Also, to
merge them if you recognize an individual as repeated: e.g. MdH100 turned out
to be MdH46 after taking better photos, so MdH100 can be given the code MdH46
and the data associated with MdH100 will thus become part of the register of
MdH46. In this case, the photos associated with MdH100 will disappear, so if it
had better, more recent pictures, the profile of MdH46 should be updated with
those new photos.
3.
SIGHTINGS MANAGEMENT
3.1 Creating a sighting zone
To
include a new zone, go to the main menu and select Sighting: Sighting Zones: Add
new zone.
Then choose the country. Example: Spain. Send. Select an area: an area may be existing or new. Send
3.2 New sighting
To create a sighting form choose the option Sighting: new sighting
in the main menu.
If there are new individuals in the sighting, not yet added to the database, it
is advisable to register them with the individual entry form before starting here.
3.3 Sightings management
Once the sighting forms are created, this searches for the form you
want to edit, associate individuals to, or delete.
a) Associating individuals: to associate one to a sighting, you
must select it in the thumbnail where they are all displayed according to their
codes. Remember to fill in the picture (Q) and markings (M) quality fields of
pictures taken during the sighting.
Although tedious, you will find this process extremely useful in further
analyses. Remember that Q = 1 is the best quality and M = 4 corresponds to the
most strongly marked animals.
b) Update: edit the sighting.
c) Delete: delete a sighting.
3. PHOTO GALLERY
In this section,
both users and guests can access the photo gallery. Try to narrow down your
search by selecting the parameters of the animals whose pictures you wish to
see.
5.
STATISTICS
5.1-PhotoID
For species that require multiple photos for their identification, you
can
calculate the most representative body-zone photographed. Select the species and
quality values ??of photos and markings you're
interested in from the Thumbnails. It will generate a list that tells you the
number of photo-identified individuals by zones.
You
can select the most representative Photo ID zone or that which interests you
most. Then a downloadable Excel table will then be automatically generated,
listing all individuals who meet the characteristics selected with their code,
Mnemo and reported sighting dates.
5.2-
Individuals/Sightings
Sighting Statistics: the following tables
may be generated:
a) Overall record of captures catches with Q and M:
- for a
species
-
for all species
b) Capture case-histories for each species
c) Table of sightings arranged by season
d) General table of sightings with individuals
- for a species
- for all species
e) Social Composition Table (under
construction)