Photo-identification

Photo Identification is an Important Research Method

Photo identification as a research method has become an important tool for behavioural and ecological studies, and population size evaluations. It is crucial for this method to take pictures of the features that distinguish species and individuals, such as size and shape of dorsal fins, coloration and shape of flukes, colouration of the bodies, and callosities.

When evaluating the pictures, most attention is paid to abnormalities within one species such as extraordinary shapes, nicks, notches or lesions. These marks are most helpful in re-identifying an individual that has been recorded before, known as recaptures. The pictures are catalogued and serve as a base for further research.

Do you want to participate in our research?

The Whale Museum would like to encourage anyone, who has been on a whale watching tour in Iceland, to send a copy of their photographs of Humpback and Minke whales, or White-beaked dolphins. Especially the pictures that show the dorsal fin or the fluke of an individual are most useful for the identification. Please be sure to include information about the date and location of the sighting. You can either email your pictures to: mailto:erla@whalemuseum.is or use the address below: