Whales may be some of the largest animals on earth, but they can be hard to find in a vast, ever-changing ocean. To track and learn about whales, scientists use a high-tech tool at the heart of many modern conveniences: telemetry.
Telemetry is the process of collecting and transmitting data from a distance. When you track a package, use GPS navigation, or ping your lost smartphone, you’re using telemetry.
Scientists at NOAA Fisheries use this technology for whale research and rescue efforts. We attach electronic tags to individual whales to safely and remotely collect powerful data. Marine animal telemetry allows us to monitor the movement and behavior of a tagged whale over a period of time. It also gives us information on how whales use their ocean habitats.
It’s not possible to tag every whale, and telemetry devices aren’t permanent. But the data we gather from even one animal helps us better understand and conserve whale populations.
Tag, You’re It: How Animal Telemetry Works
Tracking a whale with telemetry starts with attaching a tag. It is challenging to tag an animal the size of a whale. The largest whale species cannot easily be captured and released. Only trained and authorized scientists may tag a whale.
For human and whale safety, experts have developed methods for attaching tags from a distance, using drones or poles. They wait for favorable weather and sea conditions to more easily locate whales and to make it more likely that the tag deployment is successful. They carefully approach the whale in a small boat or with a drone to apply the tag to the animal.
These tags are equipped with tiny computers that record and store many types of data. Depending on the type of tag, sensors within the device can record:
- Geolocation or GPS locations of the whale
- Speed the whale is traveling
- Diving activity
- Water temperature
- Water salinity
- Audio and video
Tags for large whales are small and lightweight relative to the whale’s size. They range from the size of a cell phone to a small textbook. They are designed to be temporary, unlike microchips implanted in pets. Many tags stay on the whale for a few hours or days, though others can last for months to even a year or more. Current battery technology and tag designs prevent us from tracking whales for longer periods. Cost and resources limit the number of whales we can tag. We are also limited by logistics associated with finding and approaching whales. Some species are more difficult to tag than others.
These devices are sophisticated, but constantly improving. Scientists are working to make tags smaller, longer lasting, and more cost-effective. New designs are also less invasive and safer to attach to the whale. Researchers thoroughly test and evaluate each new tool before NOAA Fisheries approves it for use in the field.
Why Do We Tag Whales?
We tag whales for two main reasons: to conduct critical research and to help with emergency responses.
Tags collect data that shed light on the lives of whales and the conditions within their ocean world. These devices can help reveal the length and depth of their dives and how they are feeding. We can learn about their migratory patterns, habitat use, short-term survival, and environmental conditions. With extra sensors attached to tags, we can even see what they see, and listen to the sounds they make and hear.
Telemetry devices collect data over vast distances and ranges. They go beyond what scientists can typically do by air, sea, or land and show us things we don’t expect. They give us a look at a whale’s underwater activity, revealing more than what we can observe above the surface.
Air and boat surveys can be more limited by weather and typically can only observe whales during daylight hours. These surveys also focus on areas and seasons where we know whales tend to be present. This focus makes our surveys efficient, but it also means we can miss whales that vary from typical patterns. Tags help fill in these gaps.
Our scientists analyze these data to better understand a whale’s:
- Behavior
- Health
- Movement through time and space
We also use the data to detect changes in whale populations and the ways they use their habitats. What we learn from monitoring whales is key to informing management decisions based on the best available science.
Emergency response is the other main use for tags. If a whale becomes entangled, responders may decide to attach a buoy with a satellite tag to the entangling material to track the whale’s movements. The device provides location data that help teams plan a response as weather and resources allow.
A Closer Look at Whale Tag Designs
NOAA Fisheries uses different types of telemetry tags to monitor whales, depending on the project goal. We choose the device that will provide data to answer the questions being asked, while also suiting the target whale species and the conditions in its environment.
Some scientists have compared the feeling of a tag attaching to a whale to a person being bitten by a mosquito. Depending on the design, tags can attach to a whale by either breaking the skin or by sticking to the whale's back with suction cups. Suction cup tags can be attached to the end of a long pole and manually applied to the whale by a trained biologist. Newer techniques include dropping the tag onto the whale from a drone. This method is often more successful and is becoming common practice.
All tag types have their own benefits and limitations. Some devices transmit data to scientists via satellites or acoustic pulses. This allows us to receive information in near real-time. Other tags store the data they collect within the device. To access the data, scientists must physically recover the tag after it falls off the whale.
Environmental conditions also impact how data are collected. Acoustic tags, for example, can relay data when the whale is underwater by sending information to receiving stations in the ocean. Other types of tags only transmit when the whale comes to the surface.
Some tags can be programmed to stay on the whale for a set period of time, though they may fall off sooner. Spotting a small tag in the vast ocean is a tough task for researchers. The tags have limited battery life, making it critical to recover them quickly. Once they detach from the whale, we can use satellite and VHF transmitters to locate and recover them and access the data recorded in some cases. If you ever find a tag in the water or on the shore, contact NOAA to help researchers retrieve these valuable data.
Animal Telemetry Beyond Whales
Telemetry is not just for whales. Marine biologists study many other species with the help of telemetry, including:
This technique is also important for monitoring wildlife on land.
Telemetry is part of NOAA Fisheries’ broader effort to use transformational technologies to conserve protected marine species. We use a range of advanced technologies to help us understand how populations respond to environmental and human-caused threats and improve our conservation and recovery strategies.
