Tens of thousands of whales are killed or injured every year as a direct or indirect result of human activities.
The health of ocean ecosystems is tied directly to the health of whales. If we continue to lose whales, the results will be disastrous not just for the oceans, but for our entire planet. Please support Snotbot today and change what we know; and how we study and conserve whales. You can help turn the tide.
What is SnotBot
© Christian Miller
SnotBot is the best current technology to understand and document our impact on whales and their habitat. Snotbots are custom-built drones created in partnership between Ocean Alliance and Olin College of Engineering.
They hover in the air above a surfacing whale and collect the blow (or snot) exhaled from its lungs. Snotbot then returns that sample back to researchers a significant distance away.
The SnotBot program started in 2015 and continues to this day. So far, Ocean Alliance have conducted SnotBot expeditions in 6 countries and collected well over 1,000 respiratory samples from 10 whale species.
Snot? Why snot?
Having a lung lining sample is crucial. With it researchers can see virus and bacteria loads, analyze DNA, and look for environmental toxins that have been absorbed into the whale’s system. Perhaps most importantly, researchers can test for levels of hormones, which gives us information on the reproductive cycles and stress levels of these creatures as they are increasingly impacted by human activity in their natural habitats.
Why drones?
By using Snotbots, the whale never knows the data is being collected. The custom-built drones fly well above the surface of the water and into the blow, the subjects are never touched or approached closely.
Ideally, whale researchers should be positioned about half a mile away from their subjects, giving the whales plenty of room to go about their business. Dozens of technological hurdles had to be overcome in order to make the drones capable of collecting a physical sample at this distance in an uncontrolled marine environment.
How can you help? Donate now!
We need your help to fund the purchase and construction of new drones, expeditions into the field to collect samples, and data analysis and dissemination. By funding this work you are supporting the development of a new data collection tool that will be easily replicable by others as well as the collection of critical data that is of benefit to whales and ultimately humanity.
By supporting SnotBot, you are leaving a legacy for future generations and ultimately helping to preserve the ocean and everything living in it. Donate now with VAKOVAKO and 100% of your donation will go to the Ocean Alliance.
