Thar she blows! Whenever a whale surfaces, it exhales a mighty breath from its blowhole. This creates a spray of seawater and bacteria—a mixture sometimes referred to as “whale snot.” Researchers at Ocean Alliance in Massachusetts have created a tool to help scientists collect this spray: the SnotBot®.
Whale Snot Collector
SNOTBOT ®. CREDIT: OCEAN ALLIANCE, INC.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT: The SnotBot helps scientists collect “snot” samples from whales.
SNOTBOT ®. CREDIT: OCEAN ALLIANCE, INC.
The SnotBot collects snot droplets on petri dishes, as seen on the top left of the drone.
The SnotBot is a type of drone outfitted with specialized attachments. When a SnotBot flies through a whale’s spray, it collects snot droplets on petri dishes. These samples contain the naturally occurring microbes that live inside the whale. This data can provide valuable information about the whale’s health.
SNOTBOT ®. CREDIT: OCEAN ALLIANCE, INC.
DRONE ON DUTY: A SnotBot® flies into a whale’s spray to collect data without causing the animal harm.
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