Doctor Tom Hart, founder and lead on the Antarctic research project Penguin Watch, journeyed to Antarctica with Quark Expeditions recently as part of the Scientist-in-Residence program to maintain his equipment, observe penguin colonies, and collect penguin feathers for “feather printing,” a type of penguin DNA and isotope-testing process.
Penguin Watch is an initiative that examines the reasons for declines in the penguin population worldwide and takes steps to remedy the issue. A collaborative effort between Oxford University, ZSL, Oceanites, Stony Brook, the British Antarctic Survey and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Penguin Watch has placed approximately 60 cameras recording around half a million penguins around Antarctica. The initiative is in a state of growth and welcomes new participants from around the globe.
Still images from Penguin Watch cameras are uploaded to the PenguinWatch.org website, which currently houses over 2 million images. Volunteers then tag and classify penguins in the images, which helps researchers count the penguins but also teaches the algorithm to identify penguins so that one day, much of the labor-intensive process may be automated.
The ability to observe and track penguins in their natural habitat is critical, said Dr. Hart, who spent close to three-and-a-half months in Antarctica recently, traveling with Quark Expeditions on board the Scotia Arc and Antarctic Explorer expeditions. Having cameras stationed across Antarctica allows them to capture simultaneous, highly accurate data from more locations than anyone else in the world. Their huge volunteer program helps the researchers extract and interpret data incredibly rapidly and with each image tagged five times, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, as well.
The Penguin Watch Citizen Scientist contest launched on World Penguin day, April 25, 2015, and invites people the world over to make a personal contribution to penguin conservation by tagging penguins in the still images on PenguinWatch.org. Participants are entered for a chance to win an 11-day Antarctic Explorer: Discovering the 7th Continent voyage to view penguins in their natural habitat, courtesy of Quark Expeditions.
Until May 25, each day that a registered user tags at least 10 Penguin Watch photos, they receive a contest entry. Interested persons are invited to create a Zooniverse account and start tagging penguins on the Penguin Watch website to earn their first contest entry.
Quark Expeditions, www.quarkexpeditions.com