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Testing and deployment of C-VISS (cetacean-borne video camera and integrated sensor system) on wild dolphins

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Abstract

Multi-sensor biologgers are a powerful method for studying individual behaviors of free-ranging species, yet the challenges of attaching non-invasive biologgers to agile, fast-moving marine species have prohibited application of this technique to small (<5 m) cetaceans. Integration of video cameras into such biologgers is critical to understanding behavior from the animal’s perspective; however, this technique has not been applied to small cetaceans. We examined the feasibility of remotely deploying a cetacean-borne video camera and integrated sensor system (“C-VISS”) on small cetaceans. We deployed C-VISS on eight free-swimming dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) off New Zealand (42°25′15″S 173°40′23″E) from December 2015 to January 2016, collecting a total of 535 min of video footage (average = 66.8 ± 91.10 SD, range 9–284). Dolphins were observed to show limited reactions to biologger attachment attempts and deployments. Social and environmental parameters derived from video footage include conspecific body condition, mother-calf spatial positioning, affiliative behavior, sexual behavior, sociability, prey, and habitat type. The ability to record behavioral states and fine-scale events from the individual’s perspective will yield new insights into the behavior, socioecology, conservation, rehabilitation, and welfare of small cetaceans.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to: K. Brown, H. Butcher, A. Fanucci-Kiss, E. Hill, A. Judkins, and J. Weir for field assistance; S. Gan for assistance with video analysis; M. Morrissey/Department of Conservation (DOC) and B. and M. Würsig for use of their research vessels and other field support; and the Vancouver Aquarium marine mammal trainers for their assistance during the captive trials. Funding was provided by a National Geographic Society/Waitt Fund Grant; the Encounter Foundation; the Faculty of Veterinary Science and School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of Sydney; the Herchel Smith-Harvard Undergraduate Science Research Program; and the University of Alaska Southeast. This material is also based in part upon work supported by the Alaska NASA EPSCoR Program (NNX13AB28A).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alaska Southeast, 11120 Glacier Hwy, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA

    Heidi C. Pearson

  2. Dusky Dolphin Research Project, 17131 Glacier Hwy, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA

    Heidi C. Pearson & Christopher J. Pearson

  3. School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Peter W. Jones

  4. National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA

    Mridula Srinivasan

  5. Department of Conservation, 18-32 Manners St, Wellington, 6143, New Zealand

    David Lundquist

  6. Coastal-Marine Research Group, Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

    Karen A. Stockin

  7. Sydney School of Veterinary Sciences, Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska

Authors
  1. Heidi C. Pearson
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  2. Peter W. Jones
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  3. Mridula Srinivasan
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  4. David Lundquist
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  5. Christopher J. Pearson
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  6. Karen A. Stockin
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  7. Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heidi C. Pearson.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted. This study was conducted under University of Alaska Fairbanks IACUC 490961-8, Massey University Animal Ethics Committee approval MU13/90, and DOC permit 37696-MAR. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Responsible Editor: Y. Cherel.

Reviewed by E. Ferrari and undisclosed experts.

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Video S1. C-VISS video clip highlighting large group social behavior and mother-calf spatial positioning. Note: the video was rotated 90° counterclockwise in post-processing and the time/date stamp is incorrect. (MP4 19844 KB)

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Pearson, H.C., Jones, P.W., Srinivasan, M. et al. Testing and deployment of C-VISS (cetacean-borne video camera and integrated sensor system) on wild dolphins. Mar Biol 164, 42 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3079-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3079-z

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