Whales As Individuals (Zooniverse)

For example, Humpback Whales can be individually identified by patterns on their tails (flukes). Once we know whales as individuals, we can learn their personalities, as well as better understand behavior, conservation issues and population trends. But comparing thousands of individual fluke patterns becomes very difficult and time-intensive. Participants of this project annotate photographs of Humpback Whale tails (flukes) to help guide computer algorithms to match new whales to whales we’ve known for years. (Content modified from Whales as Individuals website).

Project Attributes

Institutions Involved 
Web-based Platform

Setting
Online

Participant Activities
Process data

Timing 
Ongoing

Social Configuration
Online Virtual Participation