Case Study: Duke University counts Cape Cod grey seals with SkyWatch satellite imagery

Duke University - Customer Case Study

The customer, Duke University, faced the challenge of accurately counting the rebounding grey seal population in Cape Cod, as traditional beach counts were not comprehensive. They required a method to link seal population estimates with existing animal behavior data. For this project, they utilized satellite data, facilitated by SkyWatch.

SkyWatch provided the satellite imagery that enabled researchers to spot seal colonies from space. By combining this imagery with telemetry data from animal tags, the Duke University team developed a new method to estimate the total population. This SkyWatch solution produced a new, more accurate population count of up to 50,000 seals, which was nearly double the previous estimates, resulting in the first official grey seal count for the Northeastern United States.

Duke University

David Johnston

Associate Professor of the Practice of Marine Conservation Ecology