Gharabaghi Sara Asadi
Department of Animal Sciences and Marine Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
Minorities in Shark Science (MISS).
Integr Comp Biol. 2025 Apr 26. doi: 10.1093/icb/icaf018.
Non-invasive video tracking offers a scalable, cost-effective alternative to invasive tagging for studying marine megafauna movement. However, its potential with brief footage remains underexplored. This pilot study presents a preliminary application of the method using a 24-second video of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) near Abu Musa Island in the Persian Gulf on October 10, 2023. Due to the short duration and single-individual observation, findings are exploratory and intended to demonstrate feasibility rather than establish generalizable conclusions. Using VideoTracker software and Python tools (OpenCV, NumPy), we tracked a 4-m-long shark swimming at 5 m depth, covering 19.25 m over 24 s with speeds ranging from 0.51 to 1.16 m/s (mean 0.78 ± 0.19 m/s) and an energy expenditure of 0.66 units. The near-linear trajectory (sinuosity 1.07) suggests steady cruising, consistent with efficient locomotion (Gleiss et al. 2011) and prior speed-based movement analyses (Sleeman et al. 2010). This proof-of-concept highlights the potential of video-based tracking in resource-limited contexts and encourages its further refinement for broader ecological applications.
非侵入式视频跟踪为研究海洋大型动物的运动提供了一种可扩展、经济高效的替代侵入式标记的方法。然而，其在简短视频片段方面的潜力仍未得到充分探索。这项初步研究展示了该方法的初步应用，使用了2023年10月10日在波斯湾阿布穆萨岛附近拍摄的一段24秒长的鲸鲨（Rhincodon typus）视频。由于时长较短且为单一个体观察，研究结果具有探索性，旨在证明可行性而非得出可推广的结论。我们使用VideoTracker软件和Python工具（OpenCV、NumPy），跟踪了一条4米长的鲨鱼在5米深度游动，在24秒内游动了19.25米，速度范围为0.51至1.16米/秒（平均0.78±0.19米/秒），能量消耗为0.66单位。近乎线性的轨迹（弯曲度为1.07）表明其在稳定巡航，这与高效的运动方式（Gleiss等人，2011年）以及先前基于速度的运动分析（Sleeman等人，2010年）一致。这一概念验证突出了在资源有限的情况下基于视频跟踪的潜力，并鼓励对其进行进一步优化以用于更广泛的生态应用。
