Where is the camera located?
A single autonomous camera monitoring (ACM) unit will be deployed at the Ythan Estuary, part of Forvie National Nature Reserve which is a national nature reserve owned and managed by NatureScot in Aberdeenshire. The site also overlaps with a number of protected areas, including Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Sites of Scientific Interest (SSSI), and a Designated Seal Haul-Out Site.
What is your privacy policy?
Information on the University of St Andrews and the General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR) can be found HERE. The project is only interested in images of seals, and will not post or distribute any photos that contain identifiable individuals.
Where and when will results be available?
Should this initial proof of concept be successful, a set of open source (free and readily available) plans will be published once the development, trial, and calibration phases are complete at the end of 2024.
Where can I learn more about grey seals?
There’s loads of information on the web! Here are a few quick links to get you started:
Mammal Society – Species – Grey seal
The Marine Life Information Network – Grey seal (Halichoerus gryphus)
NatureScot – Watching the Ythan seals without disturbing them
What kind of data does the camera collect?
The ACM unit will consist of a high-resolution optical camera and a thermopile infrared array (TIA) sensor. We will use the dual system to calibrate the relationship between thermal energy patterns and numbers of animals hauled out, and will form the basis of the development of automated seal detection and counting in real time. The optical camera will only be used in the development and calibration trial phase in order to provide a basis of comparison for the thermal imagery. Once the system is calibrated, it will run with only the TIA sensor, and will no longer collect regular optical images.
Current survey methods provide a “snapshot” in time of the number of seals hauled out in a given location, but they do not enable us to understand how numbers change spatiotemporally – across time and space. The data will be used to determine if we can collect numeric counts or an abundance index (a relative measure of the size of a population or sub-unit of the population) of seals hauled out at the Ythan by using thermal imaging. We are also interested if we can gather information on behaviour – such as pupping or moulting status – with this technology, and if we are able to document instances of disturbance to see how often they are occurring.
The project team WILL NOT attempt to identify or prosecute individuals who intentionally or accidentally disturb seals (once the system is operating with only the TIA sensor, individuals will not be identifiable anyway). The data will simply be used to understand the frequency and nature of the disturbance.
Have comments, or a question you don’t see listed here?
You can contact a member of the project team by clicking below!