Today, our world is now called the digital age or the internet age. Most of the people now live their social lives in this virtual world. As a result of the increase in social media platforms and messaging applications, people now prefer messaging and spending time in social media applications instead of talking on the phone or meeting face to face.
There are also benefits of social media, which has negative effects on people’s mental and physical health in terms of both social life and physical life. As you know, many users on social media share photos of everything from the flower they see to the food they eat. Scientists managed to find a way to benefit from these shares.
Even a tiny bit in the photo helped discover the whale species
A study conducted in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and published in the journal Ocean & Coastal Management succeeded in shedding light on research on rare whale species. Particularly promising results have emerged regarding southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) seen in the Southern Hemisphere.
It turns out that endangered whale species are starting to recover in a surprising way. The research team states that they encountered many southern right whales in the shared photos. Moreover, it has been reported that thanks to these shares, they will be able to discover how long the whales may have lived in which region. Even a remote photograph showing only a fraction of the whales could help, the researchers say.
Ten years of social media data reviewed
The research team explained that a southern right whale can be distinguished only by the white patches called calluses on a whale’s head, its flat back without fins, and even its large paddle-shaped pectoral fins. However, in order to do this, all social media data over a 10-year period were examined.
Posts on Facebook and iNaturalist focus on 116 photos taken over 11 years (2011-2021) in the waters around mainland New Zealand, including the islands of the North (Te Ika a Māui), South (Te Waipounamu) and Stewart (Rakiura) investigations were carried out.
It has been announced that the full population of southern right whales, whose population has decreased to 500 worldwide, can be learned and their numbers are increasing. In addition, thanks to the photos shared from different regions, the migration routes of whales can be easily examined. The research team explains that many creatures, including southern right whales, can be easily photographed because these creatures are found close to land. In this way, tens or even hundreds of photos are taken by people, and they can assist researchers in new research.
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