Distribution patterns of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Jervis Bay, Australia: A spatial analysis using geographical citizen science data

Bruce and colleagues used Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) to investigate the east Australian humpback whale population over four years spanning from 2007 to 2010. VGI is incredibly useful due to its availability and consistency over time. Within ArcGIS, a rectangular celled fishnet and spatial join were used to employ spatial clustering of VGI sighting data.

Bruce found an increase of occurrence of individuals between August and November, during which southern migration occurs. There was a clear relationship and geographic variability between groups with calves and groups without calves, likely due to the decrease depth of Jervis Bay which is hypothesized to have acted as a resting point or point of reprieve for mother and calf pairs. Maps presented here show the relationship between space, time, and whale occurrences using raster layers and heat maps to represent sighting frequency.

This study was a unique example of using VGI to conserve and detect changes in whale populations. Given the increase in accessibility to location-recording devices such as smart phones, VGI and VGI analysis may become more popular for whale conservation.

Bruce E, Albright L, Sheehan S, Blewitt M (2014) Distribution patterns of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Jervis Bay, Australia: A spatial analysis using geographical citizen science data. Applied Geography 54:83–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.06.014