PhD candidate, Martin Benavides spotlighted on Endeavors for using drones to study sharks.
“In collaboration with David Johnston, director of the the Duke Marine Lab Unoccupied Systems Facility, Benavides wants to figure out how much and what kind of information can be collected on shark populations using drone technology. The first step of the project involves building wooden decoys of bonnethead sharks, a species commonly found in North Carolina waters in the summer time. Benavides places 10 to 15 decoys in the water—the same shape, size and color as a typical bonnethead shark—from above, it’s hard to tell that they aren’t real. Then Johnston flies a drone over the area to see how many of the decoys show up on their images.”
The Endeavors story and corresponding video by Mary Lide Parker, Office of Research Communications. Published June 7, 2016