New technology to help monitor endangered penguins
Saturday, 28 Jun 2008 11:26
The technology was developed by observing the population of African penguins on Robben Island, South Africa
Scientists have developed new technology enabling them to monitor the movement of endangered penguins without intruding on their daily lives.
University of Bristol researchers have created a surveillance system that can capture data from afar and thus help gather information about population sizes and species without having to tag animals.
The system was developed during research on African penguins on South Africa's Robben Island and involves cameras which can automatically locate and trace penguins by recognising the unique pattern of black spots on their chests.
Tracking the pattern of black spots on the African penguin's chest enables a unique biometrical identifier, similar to the biometric bands on passports, to locate a particular penguin.
Researchers say the image-recognition system has also been trialled on other species such as zebras and sharks and could be extended to monitor other wildlife as well.
Dr Tilo Burghardt from Bristol University said: "We believe the new technology developed will enable biologists to identify and monitor large numbers of diverse species cheaply, quickly and automatically."
The project's founder, Professor Peter Barham, said: "Once achieved, these systems will revolutionise the precision, quantity and quality of population data available to ecologists and conservationists.
"There will also be an animal welfare benefit since there is no need to expose the animals to the stress of capture, or side-effects of being marked," he added.