FLUKEBOOK

How Does It Work?

The photos are reviewed and analyzed using matching algorithms. These algorithms provide a list of the top possible matches from your photos to an individual in our catalog. It is similar to facial recognition software.

Photograph a Dolphin

Each dolphin can be identified by its spotting pattern, no two individuals are the same. The best photos are ones that capture the entire side of the dolphin, left or right side. The dolphins spot pattern can be matched to an individual in our catalog or the dolphin you photographed will be added as a new entry.

Verification by a WDP Team Member

Each photo that gets reported will be reviewed by our team here at WDP. This “double checking” process ensures that all information you submitted is correct. It also ensures that the matches made by the computer are accurate. Once your photo has been reviewed by our WDP team, we will let you know who you saw!

Submit Your Photo

Click HERE then click on "Submit” in the top menu bar, then “Report An Encounter”. The most important information is when and where the photo was taken. Then any additional information is an added bonus! (e.g. species, sex, group size)

HOW DO YOUR PHOTOS HELP US?

Since 1985, we have been studying two resident dolphin species in the northern Bahamas: Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) & Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). In 2013, about half of our spotted dolphin community left the waters off Grand Bahama Island and moved down to Bimini.  Since then it has been very hard to find the remaining spotted dolphins off Grand Bahama Island. We have been using new technology to help us find them (this blog explains our E.A.R.s project) but we are also exploring new avenues for help. This is where you come in. We know dive boats and personal boats frequent these waters. If you happen to see dolphins and get photos we would appreciate it if you could submit them to us through our Flukebook account. Wildbooks (the creators of Flukebook) is a company that uses citizen scientists to help researchers ID individuals, the more eyes out there the better.

Our main study sites are off of Grand Bahama Island and Bimini, however if you have photos from anywhere in the Bahamas (Berry Islands, Cay Sal, etc..) or even older photos from a few years back, please send those in as well! It’s a big ocean out there and sometimes we don’t see some individuals for a few years. We don’t know why we see them some years and not others. They could be traveling farther south than we usually survey, and you might be in just the right area at the right time.

Dorsal fin shots are a huge help as well! So even if you only have shots from the surface, please send those in.

We appreciate your help and we look forward to seeing your photos!

Click HERE to get stared uploading your photos!

Credit: Google Earth

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