In a world first, Australian Institute of
Marine Science (AIMS) researchers, with the assistance of National
Geographic Crittercam technology and the Department of Conservation
and Land Management Western Australia, have captured a spy’s
eye-view of whale sharks on film.
Cruise leader Dr Mark Meekan of AIMS has returned from a 20-day
research trip at Ningaloo Reef where he trialled a Crittercam provided
by the National Geographic Society.
The project has proven the Crittercam, which showcases animals in
their natural habitat with as little human intrusion as possible is a
valuable tool in monitoring whale shark behaviour. By tethering the
Crittercam to a whale shark, the scientists were able to see what the
shark sees and exactly what lures the animals to Ningaloo Reef each
year.
"We’ve managed to get footage no one has ever seen before.
Our observations of these animals previously have been from the
surface or within snorkelling reach," Dr Meekan said.
"The footage is dynamite. It shows a seven-metre female whale
shark moving across the bottom, and its dive patterns, gliding through
schools of fish," he said. "It’s like you’ve got hold of
the dorsal fin of the shark and it’s taken you on a 50 metre dive
plummeting straight to the bottom," he said.
But when scientists working off the north coast of Western
Australia attempted to rig a whale shark with a video camera for the
very first time, they discovered how the sharks have managed to thwart
previous tracking attempts, outsmarting scientists.
Dr Meekan said the film shows the shark swimming straight to the
bottom, rolling over on to its side in the sand like a dog, and
scratching the camera off. "It showed us they’re a lot smarter
than we thought. We now know what happened to other tags in previous
tracking trials."
It forced a rethink and scientists found a more successful position
to attach the tag after observing a remora fish hitchhiking a ride
just below the dorsal fin. A remora was the original inspiration for
the development of Crittercam first developed by National Geographic
filmmaker Greg Marshall in 1987 after a research dive in Belize.
Crittercam is a small recording device that includes a video
camera, audio recorder and a logging system all neatly wrapped up in a
streamlined waterproof case. It has been utilised in groundbreaking
studies on dozens of marine species. Deployed on whales, sharks,
seals, turtles, penguins and other species, Crittercam has enabled
Greg and research collaborators to capture information that, until
now, was inaccessible to humans. Its goal is to bring scientific
communities and television audiences unprecedented documentation of
wildlife from the animal’s point of view.
Other studies conducted during the expedition bolster Dr Meekan’s
theory that the whale sharks are attracted to Ningaloo by favoured
food sources accumulating along deep-sea ridgelines left by ancient
sea levels. "This work will allow us to pinpoint the areas
favoured by the sharks so that the Department of Conservation and Land
Management can ensure their protection"
Four sharks have been fitted with satellite tags and will be
tracked for a further eight months after which the tags are designed
to fall out. "It’ll be an intense eight months waiting to see
where the whale sharks go after they leave Ningaloo – whether they
head direct to the dinner plates of South East Asia," he said.
Dr Meekan said it is still not known whether the whale sharks that
gather at Ningaloo each year are unique, or part of a global
population. The project has provided an important insight into how to
help these now threatened animals coexist peacefully with humans. The
whale shark is a threatened species.
Crittercam and the Remote Imaging program was funded in part by
National Geographic Television and offers major collaborative research
programs engaging scientists worldwide. In addition to providing
critical scientific data for basic biology and management, Crittercam
images provide a unique perspective to capture a viewing audience’s
imagination. Shared through National Geographic films, the stories
these images convey fuel public awareness of the extraordinary lives
and challenges many marine species face.
Dive, swim, hunt and burrow in animal habitats sealed off to humans
in Crittercam – WildTech Adventures
on National Geographic Channel. Premiering on 6.30pm on Tuesdays from
July on FOXTEL, OPTUS and AUSTAR, the new 13-part series transports
viewers into an amazing unseen world of animal behaviours and habitats
to experience wildlife as they’ve never seen it before.
