Scientific Reports (Jun 2023)
A collaborative and near-comprehensive North Pacific humpback whale photo-ID dataset
- Ted Cheeseman,
- Ken Southerland,
- Jo Marie Acebes,
- Katherina Audley,
- Jay Barlow,
- Lars Bejder,
- Caitlin Birdsall,
- Amanda L. Bradford,
- Josie K. Byington,
- John Calambokidis,
- Rachel Cartwright,
- Jen Cedarleaf,
- Andrea Jacqueline García Chavez,
- Jens J. Currie,
- Joëlle De Weerdt,
- Nicole Doe,
- Thomas Doniol-Valcroze,
- Karina Dracott,
- Olga Filatova,
- Rachel Finn,
- Kiirsten Flynn,
- John K. B. Ford,
- Astrid Frisch-Jordán,
- Christine M. Gabriele,
- Beth Goodwin,
- Craig Hayslip,
- Jackie Hildering,
- Marie C. Hill,
- Jeff K. Jacobsen,
- M. Esther Jiménez-López,
- Meagan Jones,
- Nozomi Kobayashi,
- Edward Lyman,
- Mark Malleson,
- Evgeny Mamaev,
- Pamela Martínez Loustalot,
- Annie Masterman,
- Craig Matkin,
- Christie J. McMillan,
- Jeff E. Moore,
- John R. Moran,
- Janet L. Neilson,
- Hayley Newell,
- Haruna Okabe,
- Marilia Olio,
- Adam A. Pack,
- Daniel M. Palacios,
- Heidi C. Pearson,
- Ester Quintana-Rizzo,
- Raul Fernando Ramírez Barragán,
- Nicola Ransome,
- Hiram Rosales-Nanduca,
- Fred Sharpe,
- Tasli Shaw,
- Stephanie H. Stack,
- Iain Staniland,
- Jan Straley,
- Andrew Szabo,
- Suzie Teerlink,
- Olga Titova,
- Jorge Urban R.,
- Martin van Aswegen,
- Marcel Vinicius de Morais,
- Olga von Ziegesar,
- Briana Witteveen,
- Janie Wray,
- Kymberly M. Yano,
- Denny Zwiefelhofer,
- Phil Clapham
Affiliations
- Ted Cheeseman
- Happywhale
- Ken Southerland
- Happywhale
- Jo Marie Acebes
- BALYENA.ORG
- Katherina Audley
- Whales of Guerrero
- Jay Barlow
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
- Lars Bejder
- Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa
- Caitlin Birdsall
- Marine Education and Research Society
- Amanda L. Bradford
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
- Josie K. Byington
- Pacific Wildlife Foundation
- John Calambokidis
- Cascadia Research Collective
- Rachel Cartwright
- Keiki Kohola Project
- Jen Cedarleaf
- University of Alaska Southeast
- Andrea Jacqueline García Chavez
- Whales of Guerrero
- Jens J. Currie
- Pacific Whale Foundation
- Joëlle De Weerdt
- Association ELI-S
- Nicole Doe
- Marine Education and Research Society
- Thomas Doniol-Valcroze
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Karina Dracott
- Ocean Wise
- Olga Filatova
- University of Southern Denmark
- Rachel Finn
- NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
- Kiirsten Flynn
- Cascadia Research Collective
- John K. B. Ford
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Astrid Frisch-Jordán
- Ecología y Conservación de Ballenas
- Christine M. Gabriele
- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
- Beth Goodwin
- Eye of the Whale Marine Mammal Research
- Craig Hayslip
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University
- Jackie Hildering
- Marine Education and Research Society
- Marie C. Hill
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
- Jeff K. Jacobsen
- VE Enterprises
- M. Esther Jiménez-López
- Departamento Académico de Ingeniería en Pesquerías, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
- Meagan Jones
- Whale Trust
- Nozomi Kobayashi
- Okinawa Churashima Foundation
- Edward Lyman
- NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
- Mark Malleson
- Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea
- Evgeny Mamaev
- Commander Islands National Park
- Pamela Martínez Loustalot
- Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
- Annie Masterman
- NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center
- Craig Matkin
- North Gulf Oceanic Society
- Christie J. McMillan
- Marine Education and Research Society
- Jeff E. Moore
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
- John R. Moran
- NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center
- Janet L. Neilson
- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
- Hayley Newell
- Happywhale
- Haruna Okabe
- Okinawa Churashima Foundation
- Marilia Olio
- Happywhale
- Adam A. Pack
- University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
- Daniel M. Palacios
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University
- Heidi C. Pearson
- University of Alaska Southeast
- Ester Quintana-Rizzo
- Emmanuel College
- Raul Fernando Ramírez Barragán
- Whales of Guerrero
- Nicola Ransome
- Murdoch University
- Hiram Rosales-Nanduca
- Departamento Académico de Ingeniería en Pesquerías, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
- Fred Sharpe
- Alaska Whale Foundation
- Tasli Shaw
- Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea
- Stephanie H. Stack
- Pacific Whale Foundation
- Iain Staniland
- International Whaling Commission
- Jan Straley
- University of Alaska Southeast
- Andrew Szabo
- Alaska Whale Foundation
- Suzie Teerlink
- NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office
- Olga Titova
- Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution
- Jorge Urban R.
- Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
- Martin van Aswegen
- University of Southern Denmark
- Marcel Vinicius de Morais
- Happywhale
- Olga von Ziegesar
- Winged Whale Research
- Briana Witteveen
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Janie Wray
- North Coast Cetacean Society
- Kymberly M. Yano
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
- Denny Zwiefelhofer
- Happywhale
- Phil Clapham
- Seastar Scientific
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36928-1
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 17
Abstract
Abstract We present an ocean-basin-scale dataset that includes tail fluke photographic identification (photo-ID) and encounter data for most living individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset was built through a broad collaboration combining 39 separate curated photo-ID catalogs, supplemented with community science data. Data from throughout the North Pacific were aggregated into 13 regions, including six breeding regions, six feeding regions, and one migratory corridor. All images were compared with minimal pre-processing using a recently developed image recognition algorithm based on machine learning through artificial intelligence; this system is capable of rapidly detecting matches between individuals with an estimated 97–99% accuracy. For the 2001–2021 study period, a total of 27,956 unique individuals were documented in 157,350 encounters. Each individual was encountered, on average, in 5.6 sampling periods (i.e., breeding and feeding seasons), with an annual average of 87% of whales encountered in more than one season. The combined dataset and image recognition tool represents a living and accessible resource for collaborative, basin-wide studies of a keystone marine mammal in a time of rapid ecological change.
