Studying Seals with Static Sensors

 is made possible As top predators and key indicators of ecosystem health, it is important for wildlife managers to have effective tools to monitor seal numbers and behaviour in remote and inaccessible haul-outs. This helps gauge species status, marine health, and assess the impact of human activities or changes in marine habitats.

Autonomous Camera Monitoring (ACM)

One of the major challenges of traditional pinniped haul-out survey methods is that they are resource-intensive to perform, highly dependent on weather and environmental conditions, and still may not yield a robust picture of what an animal’s daily activity looks like. Effective, low-cost, low-impact ways to conduct long-term monitoring of pinniped population status and behaviour are needed to answer important biological, conservation management, and policy questions.

ACM systems operate remotely, and can provide continuous 24/7 coverage if desired. They enable a consistent approach to monitoring over time, and can be used to measure long term changes in population dynamics, threats, and species behaviour. There is a current lack of capacity for near-real time grey seal haul-out monitoring in Scotland, and an ACM system would enable managers to make rapid, informed management decisions, even for remote or difficult to access haul-outs. This is particularly valuable for species facing challenging management issues, like grey seals.

Foundation

This project builds off of an existing open-source ACM unit plan designed by The Octopus Foundation. These units have been operating successfully in the Ionian Sea monitoring Mediterranean monk seals since 2019. Here, we will ruggedize the system for the Scottish environment and will replace one of the cameras with a thermal imaging camera.

Engagement

The project team views an informed and supportive community as critical to the success of our efforts. We have held workshops and community evenings to share the goals of our project and to gather feedback, and will continue to do so for the life of the project. Find out more on our FAQ page.

Funding

This project is made possible by a grant from the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF).