Revolutionary Drone ‘Tap-and-Go’ Tagging Transforms Whale Research with Less Stress

What if a quick drone tap could decode whale songs? Researchers off Dominica just nailed it, and it’s a game-changer for us pilots.

In the Caribbean waters near Dominica, researchers deploy drones to gently press sensors onto sperm whales’ backs, enabling audio recordings of their communications with minimal disruption. This innovative “tap-and-go” method, detailed in a new PLOS One study, promises to enhance data collection on whale health and behavior while reducing stress compared to traditional boat-based approaches.

How Drones Execute the Tap-and-Go Technique

Engineers modify First Person View racing drones to withstand harsh ocean conditions, including saltwater, wind, and waves. These drones descend precisely to align with a whale’s back and attach suction-cup sensors directly. Unlike earlier experiments that drop tags from heights of about 30 feet (9 meters), this contact method ensures secure placement as the whale dives, leveraging water pressure.

Researchers tested the system on sperm whales, which grow up to 60 feet (18 meters) long and surface for only eight minutes during a 45-minute dive cycle. Out of 20 attempts, over half succeeded, with the full process—from drone alignment to tag deployment—taking under seven minutes, according to a report in the NY Times. This efficiency stems from the drone’s ability to approach from afar, avoiding the close-quarters challenges of pole-based tagging.

Advantages Over Conventional Tagging Methods

Traditional tagging requires scientists to perch on a boat’s bow and use a 20-foot (6-meter) pole to affix sensors, a process that demands precise coordination and often stresses whales due to engine noise and proximity. “We always wanted to improve this method,” said Daniel Vogt, a research engineer at Harvard and the lead author of the study. Drones, by contrast, enable quicker, distant operations. “We want to reduce the disturbance to the animal while improving the quality of the data that we collect,” Mr. Vogt said.

This development raises questions about scalability for hard-to-tag species like fin whales, which move swiftly. “The pole-based approach is still relatively noninvasive,” said Jeremy Goldbogen, a marine biologist at Stanford University who was not involved with the research. But he added, “This adds yet another method in our vast and diverse tool kit for how we study large whales in the open ocean — which is always a challenging thing.”

Broader Applications in Marine Science and Drone Technology

The sensors capture acoustics, hunting patterns, and social interactions, aiding studies on species including minke, sperm, blue, humpback, and North Atlantic right whales. Tags detach automatically after hours or days, and teams retrieve them via telemetry or satellite. For initiatives like Project CETI, which explores AI decoding of whale songs, this means amassing more audio data efficiently.

Building on that, drones already revolutionize whale research beyond tagging. They measure individuals, observe surface behaviors, and sample blow vapor for genetics, hormones, and microbiomes. “This is definitely the future,” Dr. Goldbogen said. “It’s really exciting to see these new innovations.”

Ari Friedlaender, an ecologist at University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved with the study, called it “a new and creative way to take advantage of what a drone can do.” He noted, “It just gives us a much better chance of being successful in our science if we have multiple ways of doing this.”

For drone professionals, this highlights FPV models’ versatility in scientific applications, potentially inspiring adaptations for environmental monitoring. The technique minimizes risks to endangered populations, like Rice’s whales with fewer than 100 left, by avoiding invasive interactions. As drone tech advances, such methods could extend to other marine mammals, boosting conservation efforts through precise, low-impact data gathering.

This shift underscores a trend where drones bridge gaps in fieldwork, offering operational efficiencies and cost savings over boat deployments. Researchers anticipate deploying more tags, yielding richer datasets to inform policies on whale protection amid shipping and noise pollution threats.

Photos courtesy of Project CETI.