ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2012) —
University of Delaware researchers are using an underwater robot to find and
follow sand tiger sharks that they previously tagged with transmitters. The
innovative project is part of a multi-year partnership with Delaware State
University to better understand the behavior and migration patterns of the
sharks in real time.
"In the past week our new, specially
equipped glider OTIS -- which stands for Oceanographic Telemetry Identification
Sensor -- detected multiple sand tiger sharks off the coast of Maryland that
were tagged over the past several years," said Matthew Oliver, assistant
professor of oceanography in UD's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment.
"This is the first time that a glider has found tagged sharks and reported
their location in real time."
OTIS is a remote-controlled device that
looks like a yellow torpedo and normally darts through the ocean to sample
water conditions. Oliver outfitted the apparatus with acoustic receivers that
can recognize signals given off by the sharks' transmitters as they travel
through coastal waters, rapidly reporting the encounters.
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