Researchers at Oregon state university have developed a satellite tag that allows them to track certain behaviours of whales, such as being able to observe their feeding behaviours during dives. Why is this significant? This tag now can help us understand how human intervention in the aquatic ecosystem such as ship traffic, and military sonars affects whales, as it can help us understand their response to our intervention. What are some examples regarding how humans can affect whales? One way would be ships colliding with whales, and harming them via being struck. The tags can help us know how much time the whales spend near the ships, thus providing more information on the likelihood of them being struck in certain areas which can help us make more informed decisions on how we can protect them. Also the tag provides the ability to monitor the whales responses to loud sound, such as the sonars used by the U.S navy.
