Flying with whales: Drones are remaking marine mammal research

The catastrophic explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in 2010 resulted in one of the most significant marine oil spills in history. Following this disaster, whale researcher Iain Kerr ventured into the Gulf of Mexico to assess the spill's impact on sperm whales. His goal was to collect small tissue samples using specialized darts, but the task proved challenging. Each time his boat approached a whale surfacing for air, the animal would vanish before he could reach it. Kerr likened the experience to a game of Whac-A-Mole. As night fell, an unexpected encounter occurred when a whale dove in front of Kerr, showering him with whale snot. This incident sparked a groundbreaking idea: what if he could capture that same snot by flying over the whale instead? Whale snot contains a wealth of information, including the animal’s DNA, sex, pregnancy status, and microbiome composition. After extensive experimentation, Kerr developed the SnotBot, a drone equipped with six petri dishes designed to collect whale snot as it surfaces and exhales through its blowhole. Today, drones like the SnotBot are being used worldwide, not only to gather samples from sperm whales but also from other marine species such as blue whales and dolphins. "I would say drones have changed my life," Kerr remarked, highlighting the transformative potential of this technology in marine research. The use of drones in studying whales is just one of many innovations in marine biology. Over the past decade, advancements in drone technology have made these tools more affordable and user-friendly, greatly benefiting researchers. According to Joshua Stewart, an ecologist at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, scientists are discovering new applications for drones in nearly every facet of marine mammal research.