Estimating Total Body Lipid Store of Free-Ranging Whales In Vivo Using Drone Photogrammetry and Biologging Tags.

ABSTRACT: Lipid reserve mass is a key indicator of individual fitness and population health in wild animal populations, but no method currently exists to measure it in large aquatic species for which capture is impractical. Here, we develop and employ a new method for quantifying lipid stores in a free-ranging cetacean, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). This method combines UAV (drone) photogrammetry-based estimates of body volume with tag-derived tissue density to estimate lipid store mass to within an estimated 18% on average. Statistical analysis cross validating volume and density-based condition indicators confirmed the predicted relationships between body volume, tissue density and body composition. On average, for a whale 12 m in length, an increment in volume of 1 m³

SUBMITTER: Burslem A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12657101 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature