Creation
Sharkbook is the result of collaboration between Simon J Pierce of the Marine Megafauna Foundation and Jason Holmberg of Wild Me. The software is Open Source and is now being used by other biology projects. [1] [2] [3]
| Legal status | nonprofit |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Online citizen science database to identify and track sharks, in particular whale sharks |
Parent organization | Marine Megafauna Foundation, WildMe |
Volunteers | 9445 citizen scientists, 313 researchers |
| Website | https://www.sharkbook.ai |
Formerly called | whaleshark.org, wildbook for whale sharks |
Sharkbook is a global database for identifying and tracking sharks, particularly whale sharks, using uploaded photos and videos.In addition to identifying and tracking sharks, the site allows people to "adopt a shark" and get updates on specific animals.
Sharkbook is the result of collaboration between Simon J Pierce of the Marine Megafauna Foundation and Jason Holmberg of Wild Me. The software is Open Source and is now being used by other biology projects. [1] [2] [3]
Whale sharks have unique spot patterning on their sides, similar to a human fingerprint, which allows for individual identification. Scuba divers around the world can photograph sharks and upload their identification photographs to the Sharkbook website, supporting global research and conservation efforts. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Additionally, the software automatically searches social media sites like YouTube and Instagram to look for images of whale sharks and adds them to the database. [2]
Sharkbook software uses special pattern-matching software to identify the unique spots on each shark. This software and algorithms were originally adapted from NASA star tracking software [2] used on the Hubble Space Telescope. [3] [9] This software uses a scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm, which can cope with complications presented by highly variable spot patterns and low contrast photographs. [4] [10] [11]
This citizen science tool is free to use by researchers worldwide. Sharkbook represents a global initiative to centralize shark sightings and facilitate research on these vulnerable species. [12] [13] [14] [15]
Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object was taken in 1840, but it was not until the late 19th century that advances in technology allowed for detailed stellar photography. Besides being able to record the details of extended objects such as the Moon, Sun, and planets, modern astrophotography has the ability to image objects outside of the visible spectrum of the human eye such as dim stars, nebulae, and galaxies. This is accomplished through long time exposure as both film and digital cameras can accumulate and sum photons over long periods of time or using specialized optical filters which limit the photons to a certain wavelength.
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. STScI was established in 1981 as a community-based science center that is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). STScI's offices are located on the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus and in the Rotunda building in Baltimore, Maryland.
The whale shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft). The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae, which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984 it was classified as Rhiniodon into Rhinodontidae.
The Great Dark Spot was one of a series of dark spots on Neptune similar in appearance to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. In 1989, GDS-89 was the first Great Dark Spot on Neptune to be observed by NASA's Voyager 2 space probe. Like Jupiter's spot, Great Dark Spots are anticyclonic storms. However, their interiors are relatively cloud-free, and unlike Jupiter's spot, which has lasted for hundreds of years, their lifetimes appear to be shorter, forming and dissipating once every few years or so. Based on observations taken with Voyager 2 and since then with the Hubble Space Telescope, Neptune appears to spend somewhat more than half its time with a Great Dark Spot. Little is known about the origins, movement, and disappearance of the dark spots observed on the planet since 1989.
A facial recognition system is a technology capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification services, and works by pinpointing and measuring facial features from a given image.
Shark tourism is a form of eco-tourism that allows people to dive with sharks in their natural environment. This benefits local shark populations by educating tourists and through funds raised by the shark tourism industry. Communities that previously relied on shark finning to make their livelihoods are able to make a larger profit from diving tours while protecting the local environment. People can get close to the sharks by free- or scuba diving or by entering the water in a protective cage for more aggressive species. Many of these dives are done by private companies and are often baited to ensure shark sightings, a practice which is highly controversial and under review in many areas.
Pillars of Creation is a photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope of elephant trunks of interstellar gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, in the Serpens constellation, some 6,500–7,000 light-years from Earth. These elephant trunks had been discovered by John Charles Duncan in 1920 on a plate made with the Mount Wilson Observatory 60-inch telescope. They are named so because the gas and dust are in the process of creating new stars, while also being eroded by the light from nearby stars that have recently formed. Taken on April 1, 1995, it was named one of the top ten photographs from Hubble by Space.com. The astronomers responsible for the photo were Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen from Arizona State University. The region was rephotographed by ESA's Herschel Space Observatory in 2011, again by Hubble in 2014 with a newer camera, and the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022.
Sodwana Bay is a bay in South Africa on the KwaZulu Natal north coast, between St. Lucia and Lake Sibhayi. It is in the Sodwana Bay National Park, and the Maputaland Marine Reserve, and is a popular recreational diving destination. The term is commonly used to refer to both the marine reserve and the terrestrial park, as well as the geographical bay.
Brian Skerry is an American photojournalist and film producer specializing in marine life and ocean environments. Since 1998 he has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine with more than 30 stories to his credit, including 6 covers. In 2021 Skerry won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as producer in the miniseries, Secrets of the Whales.
Photo-identification is a technique used to identify and track individuals of a wild animal study population over time. It relies on capturing photographs of distinctive characteristics such as skin or pelage patterns or scars from the animal. In cetaceans, the dorsal fin area and tail flukes are commonly used.
The giant oceanic manta ray, giant manta ray, or oceanic manta ray is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, and the largest type of ray in the world. It is circumglobal and is typically found in tropical and subtropical waters, but can also be found in temperate waters. Until 2017, the species was classified in the genus Manta, along with the smaller reef manta ray. DNA testing revealed that both species are more closely related to rays of the genus Mobula than previously thought. As a result, the giant manta was renamed as Mobula birostris to reflect the new classification.
The reef manta ray is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae, one of the largest rays in the world. Among generally recognized species, it is the second-largest species of ray, only surpassed by the giant oceanic manta ray.
Manta Matcher is a global online database for manta rays.
Andrea Marshall is a marine biologist known for wildlife conservation and research on large marine animals like manta rays & whale sharks. Marshall is co-founder and a principal scientist of the Marine Megafauna Foundation, where she leads many of MMF’s projects around the world.
Racing Extinction is a 2015 documentary about the ongoing anthropogenic mass extinction of species and the efforts from scientists, activists and journalists to document it by Oscar-winning director Louie Psihoyos, who directed the documentary The Cove (2009). The film received one Oscar nomination, for Best Original Song, and one Emmy nomination for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. Racing Extinction premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, followed by limited theater release, with worldwide broadcast premiere on The Discovery Channel in 220 countries or territories on December 2, 2015.
Dení Ramírez Macías is a Mexican marine biologist ocean scientist, and conservationist, and director of Whale Shark México since 2003. She leads the "Giants of Peru" project of the Save Our Seas Foundation.
The Save Our Seas Foundation is a philanthropic organization committed to protecting the world’s oceans. It was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, on 23 September 2003.
The Manta Pacific Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on manta ray conservation.
The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) is a marine biology research and conservation nonprofit known for discovering, researching, and protecting large marine animals including whale sharks, manta rays, sea turtles, whales, and dugongs.
Simon J Pierce is a marine biologist and conservationist known for discovering, studying, and protecting large marine animals such as whale sharks and manta rays. He is the co-founder and principal scientist of the Marine Megafauna Foundation.