Identifying Sevengill Sharks in San Diego with Wildbook

Our goal is to attempt the identification of Sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) that may be returning to San Diego from year-to-year, using the pattern recognition algorithm provided in ‘Wildbook,’ a web-based... [ view full abstract ]

Our goal is to attempt the identification of Sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) that may be returning to San Diego from year-to-year, using the pattern recognition algorithm provided in ‘Wildbook,’ a web-based application for wildlife data management, designed by Jason Holmberg. 'Wildbook' which has been successfully used to ID Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus) by their spotting patterns. 1, 2

Sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus), are currently listed as Data deficient (DD) on the IUCN Red List: "This assessment is based on the information published in the 2005 shark status survey (Fowler et al. 2005). 3

The genesis of this project was the *apparent* increase of encounters and sightings reported by divers with this species in the San Diego area, from 2009 to the present, to provide a long-term population dynamics study to examine the possible reason for this, as well as to provide a baseline study for future researchers.

For specifics on our methodology, please see here: http://sevengillsharksightings.org/our-methodology-introduction/

1. http://www.whaleshark.org/
2. http://www.wildme.org/wildbook/doku.php
3. http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=1521