Seals - Ythan Estuary
Photo Credit: Naomi Smith
Background
Seals and their habitats are popular spots for wildlife tourism. The Forvie National Nature Reserve (NNR), located near the village of Newburgh in Aberdeenshire, hosts the fastest-growing grey seal haul-out in mainland Scotland. Over 3,000 seals have been recorded hauled out on the sand banks at the mouth of the River Ythan. In 2017, this area was designated as one of 195 official seal haul-out sites across Scotland, providing additional protection for the seals from intentional or reckless harassment.
Protected areas for seals often attract many visitors. Visitor numbers to the reserve have been increasing along with the rising number of seals using the haul-out. Since 2008, this area has become a 'hotspot' for nature-based recreational activities, with around 63,000 visitors in 2020. Despite the protections in place, incidents of disturbance still occur, with stampedes triggered by visitors venturing too close and instances of pups being attacked by dogs.
Research into how people and seals share this space is limited. It is important to understand how both seals and humans use the area to inform better management measures. To understand the lives of our grey seals, we need to learn more about their population size, preferred locations, and factors affecting them. To understand how people use the area, we are interested in why they visit the beach, where they like to go, and their thoughts on the experience.
Project Aims
The long-term goal of the Aberdeen Marine Mammal Project is to establish a dedicated, long-term monitoring program for the seals at Newburgh Beach and the Ythan Estuary. By conducting dedicated surveys, observers will be able to gather data on the environmental factors influencing seal haul-out behaviour and measure levels of human disturbance.
Claire Stanfield's PhD project, funded by SRUC, combines modern drone technology with wildlife survey techniques and big-data analysis to address some of these questions. Her objectives are:
i) To determine the grey seal population demographics, haul-out patterns, and potential environmental drivers in the Ythan Estuary.
ii) To quantify human land use and assess the social opinions of visitors to the Ythan Estuary catchment area.
Research Methods
Drone Surveys
The PhD study will conduct weekly drone surveys, capturing images of the seals on the beach using best practice wildlife monitoring techniques.
The drones used in this research have been specifically chosen due to their small, quiet nature to minimise the risk of wildlife disturbance. Each drone flight will have a maximum duration of 20 minutes, with drones flown at high altitude. Flights will be performed around low tide in ideal seal sunbathing weather, such as low winds and no rain. These images will help us create detailed maps showing where the seals prefer to haul out and gather population data.
Permission was obtained from NatureScot prior to commencing drone-based research in the Forve NNR.
Social Technology
The PhD study is evaluating the sustainability of seal ecotourism in the area. Understanding how seals use the area is one part of the puzzle, while understanding how people use the area is another.
To achieve this, we will gather information from social media posts and activity tracking apps. By analysing geotagged social media posts and GPS tracks from these apps, we will collect real-time, unbiased data on human activity in the area. This data will help us create a detailed map of human land use and identify trends in visitor opinions.
You can help with this research! Check out our Get Involved page for details on how you cab submit your own GPS tracks to help us understand human activity around the Ythan Estuary.