How AI is helping to study tourist impact on seals
BBC••world
Key Points:
- Marine biologist Claire Stainfield is using AI technology to rapidly analyze drone footage of grey seals at Newburgh beach, Aberdeenshire, significantly reducing data processing time from hours to seconds.
- The Ythan Estuary at Newburgh beach, a protected seal haul-out site since 2017, has seen a population increase from about 10-20 seals 50 years ago to over 3,000 at peak times today.
- Claire's research focuses on how rising tourist numbers affect seal behavior, finding minimal disturbance when visitors stay on the south side of the beach, while the north side causes more disruption.
- The study involves weekly data collection over two years, tracking seasonal seal locations and behaviors, with seals foraging
