Constellations in the depths

Green Inspiration is a series of articles developed by Local.mx to showcase the most relevant environmental projects. In collaboration with Rolex's Perpetual Planet initiative, our goal is to raise awareness, inspire new generations and encourage all good ideas that improve life on Mother Earth. Rolex is supporting inspiring organizations and individuals on a mission to make the planet perpetual. #PerpetualPlanet. For more information visit rolex.org

If instead of looking at the celestial vault we were to observe the deep sea, we would be surprised to find an unusual display of constellations. On the skin of whale sharks, very particular patterns of white spots - resembling stars - hold the key to better understanding and conserving these giant, gentle fish.

.

That is the idea behind the project of Australian marine biologist Brad Norman - winner ofa Rolex Award for Initiative in 2006 -who for more than two decades has been working on the Ningaloo Reef near Perth, a site as amazing for its biodiversity as for the attraction it holds for the mysterious whale sharks that visit the region every year as part of their migratory route.

Although Norman had been fascinated by marine life since he was a child, the whale shark became the focus of his studies when, in 1995, he swam alongside a specimen and found the experience so magnificent that it took his breath away. He began to study the species more closely, taking photographs. He wondered if the mottled patterns covering that sleek gray skin might be unique - as with fingerprints - and if this could help identify each individual and learn more about their populations and their migratory and reproductive patterns. He began by comparing a handful of images, and soon, thanks to the support of Rolex, he was able to launch a citizen science project that would allow him to increase his collection with photographs from all corners of the world. Anyone - conservationists, divers, members of the scientific community and even a tourist on a snorkeling session - could contribute images of their sightings.

The response to this initiative was very good. And to compare among the thousands of images that now made up the collection, Norman used an algorithm created by NASA. Although originally designed for stellar observation by the Hubble Space Telescope, the technology was adapted to map the spots on the skin of whale sharks and find that they do indeed show unique patterns. Thanks to a total of 75,000 contributions from 9,000 people in 54 different countries, 12,000 individual specimens have been identified to date. This is one of the largest databases dedicated to a single species.

The importance of this work transcends a marine biologist's fascination with a noble and gigantic fish: whale shark populations have declined dramatically in recent decades, and their existence is threatened. Our lack of knowledge about their breeding and migration habits work against them. "The oceans are the next frontier. We still have a lot to explore. We know more about the Moon than we do about the oceans," Norman said in 2006. And this is very true in the case of whale sharks: they were not discovered until 1828, even though there is evidence that they existed as far back as the Jurassic period, and until the 1980s only about 350 sightings had been recorded. The work led by Norman, therefore, is key to understanding the characteristics of the species and creating protection strategies in specific areas, which is why it is so important that this is a collaborative project in which everyone can participate.

To learn the mysteries behind their long inter-oceanic trajectories, Norman has teamed up with bioscience professor Rory Wilson, another pioneering 2006 Rolex Laureate, who has developed an electronic sensor called the Daily Diary. The result was the implantation of satellite tags, cameras and sensors in various specimens of whale sharks in order to monitor them remotely. Thus it was discovered, for example, that they have the capacity to move up to 7,000 kilometers, or that certain specimens always return to the same places.

At 18 meters long and with its wide mouth, the whale shark is as big as it is charismatic, making it an ideal representative of all marine life that urgently needs to be protected. Norman has created educational campaigns involving schools. The Whale Shark Race Around the World, for example, invites students to choose a young tagged whale shark and follow its journey through the different oceans of the world, which not only spreads enthusiasm for this species, but also sows in the new generations the seed of curiosity for all types of life that proliferate in the depths. "It's about creating interest, motivation and desire in the new generation. We rely on trying to educate and teach people about the beauty of our natural environment and encourage them to be more aware and motivated to protect it," Norman says.