Manta Matcher
Legal status | nonprofit |
---|---|
Purpose | Online citizen science database to identify and track manta rays |
Parent organization | Marine Megafauna Foundation, WildMe |
Website | https://www.mantamatcher.org |
Manta Matcher is a global online database for manta rays.[1]
Creation[edit]
It is one of the Wildbook Web applications developed by Wild Me, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization in the United States, and was created in partnership with Andrea Marshall of the Marine Megafauna Foundation.
![Oceanic manta ray being photographed](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Giant_oceanic_manta_ray.jpg/220px-Giant_oceanic_manta_ray.jpg)
Manta rays have unique spot patterning on their undersides, which allows for individual identification.[2] Scuba divers around the world can photograph mantas[3] and upload their manta identification photographs to the Manta Matcher website,[4] supporting global research and conservation efforts.
Identification of rays[edit]
Manta Matcher is a pattern-matching software that eases researcher workload; key spot pattern features are extracted using a scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm,[5] which can cope with complications presented by highly variable spot patterns and low contrast photographs.
Purpose and research supported[edit]
This citizen science tool is free to use by researchers worldwide. Manta Matcher represents a global initiative to centralize manta ray sightings and facilitate research on these vulnerable species through collaborative studies, including the cross-referencing of regional databases.[6]
Manta Matcher has already supported research[7] that contributed to the listing of reef mantas (Manta alfredi) on Appendix 1 of the Convention on Migratory Species in November 2014.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ Town, Christopher; Marshall, Andrea; Nutthaporn, Sebastien (2013). "Manta Matcher: automated photographic identification of manta rays using keypoint features". Ecology and Evolution. 3 (7): 1902–1914. Bibcode:2013EcoEv...3.1902T. doi:10.1002/ECE3.587. PMC 3728933. PMID 23919138.
- ^ Marshall, A.D.; Dudgeon, C.L.; Bennett, M.B. (2011). "Size and structure of a photographically identified population of manta rays Manta alfredi in southern Mozambique". Marine Biology. 158 (5): 1111–1124. Bibcode:2011MarBi.158.1111M. doi:10.1007/s00227-011-1634-6. S2CID 86204140.
- ^ "Photographing Mantas". mantamatcher.org.
- ^ "Participate: Report an Encounter". mantamatcher.org.
- ^ Town, Christopher; Marshall, Andrea; Nutthaporn, Sebastien (2013). "Manta Matcher: automated photographic identification of manta rays using keypoint features". Ecology and Evolution. 3 (7): 1902–1914. Bibcode:2013EcoEv...3.1902T. doi:10.1002/ECE3.587. PMC 3728933. PMID 23919138.
- ^ Steinhoff, Nane (2023-01-10). "First international migration of manta rays confirmed". Oceanographic. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
- ^ Germanov, Elitza; Marshall, Andrea (2014). "Running the Gauntlet: regional movement patterns of Manta alfredi through a complex of parks and fisheries". PLOS ONE. 9 (10): e110071. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9k0071G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110071. PMC 4206290. PMID 25337865.
- ^ "31 Species of Migratory Animals Given UN Protection". Sydney Morning Herald. November 10, 2014.