Sharkbook is a global database for identifying and tracking

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

s, particularly

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, D ...

s, 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.

Creation

Sharkbook is the result of collaboration between

Simon J Pierce 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. P ...

of the

Marine Megafauna Foundation The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) is a Marine biology, marine biology research and Conservation biology, conservation nonprofit known for discovering, researching, and protecting large marine animals including whale sharks, manta rays, sea t ...

and Jason Holmberg of Wild Me. The software is

Open Source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

and is now being used by other biology projects. TubbatahaReef

Identification of individual sharks

Whale sharks have unique spot patterning on their sides, similar to a human fingerprint, which allows for individual identification.

Scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

around the world can photograph sharks and upload their identification photographs to the Sharkbook website, supporting global research and conservation efforts. 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. Sharkbook software uses special pattern-matching software to identify the unique spots on each shark. This software and algorithms were originally adapted from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

star tracking software used on the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

. 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.

Purpose

This

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

tool is free to use by researchers worldwide. Sharkbook represents a global initiative to centralize shark sightings and facilitate research on these vulnerable species.{{Cite journal , last1=Araujo , first1=Gonzalo , last2=Agustines , first2=Ariana , last3=Tracey , first3=Brian , last4=Snow , first4=Sally , last5=Labaja , first5=Jessica , last6=Ponzo , first6=Alessandro , date=2019-11-20 , title=Photo-ID and telemetry highlight a global whale shark hotspot in Palawan, Philippines , journal=

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

, language=en , volume=9 , issue=1 , pages=17209 , doi=10.1038/s41598-019-53718-w , pmid=31748588 , pmc=6868279 , bibcode=2019NatSR...917209A , issn=2045-2322

References

Marine biology Sharks Citizen science

Creation

Identification of individual sharks

Purpose

See also

References