Tracking shark movement has been difficult so far for researchers but now a project undertaken by students and faculty of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and CSU Long Beach may simplify the task.
Computer Science Professor Chris Clark and Marine Biology Professor Mark Moline from Cal Poly are in collaboration with the CSU Long Beach Marine Biology Professor Christopher Lowe on this shark tracking project.
They are using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles owned by Cal Poly to gather and send back data to the researchers. The AUVs are said to resemble torpedoes and the project is being funded by a three year grant worth $490,000 by the National Science Foundation's Robust Intelligence program.
So far the researchers have been restricted to using boats and ships above the water. They would tag the fish and track them with electronic signals. The AUVs add an extra dimension to the project in allowing them to track sharks better for longer distances and time periods.
A team of students working in Cal Poly’s Lab for Autonomous and Intelligent Robotics (LAIR) are advancing robotics technology, specifically in the areas of new estimation and control theory, Professor Clark said.
The team tested the system this summer using an AUV to track a leopard shark off the coast of Long Beach. They caught a 1-meter long leopard shark in Sea Plane Lagoon, tagged it with an acoustic emitter and released it. They then used an AUV to track it.
After running through the successful test, the team is now comparing the information generated using the AUV against earlier data collected by CSULB researchers who followed a leopard shark by boat. The research may also indicate whether shark behaviour is affected by tracking methods.