Seal Fat? There’s An App For That
A Norwegian research lab just came up with the coolest thing.
Scientists recently announced they will be implementing new technology, kind of like a smartphone app, into the fat stores on Norwegian seals to study the animal’s energy use and body weight.
Akvaplan Niva, the lab with the million dollar idea, is pioneering this project with admirable goals. Instead of taking a ship out in the icy waters to monitor the seals, they can use new technology to monitor the seal’s behavior while they’re underwater and in their undisturbed natural habitat.
How cool is that?!
So this is how it works: scientists will implant a microchip into the seal’s fat stores that collects data about their body motion and changes in velocity and direction. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s very similar to the technology already used in smartphone and sports apps that track human exercise and body movement.
This new tech also will help researchers determine where the seals are finding their food and what kinds of cold-water delicacies they are prone to consuming.
What and how much fish seals eat is a major concern to the fishing industry.
Test facilities are trying out the new technology and preparing to launch the “app” on a larger scale.
“Building these test facilities turned out to be a much bigger job than we expected,” Martin Biuw, a researcher at Akvaplan Niva said. “But now we have a unique laboratory out in the ocean. We have already received lots of enquiries from seal researchers around the world who would like to use it.”
Best of luck to Akvaplan Niva and we look forward to hearing more about their innovative seal fat app!
