We chatted with Dr Tierney Thys at the Galapagos Sunfish Project about her work and the vital role citizen scientists play in helping to improve our understanding of the elusive sunfish.
Communications Manager (Paternity Cover)
What is the aim of the Galapagos Sunfish project?
We are hoping to gather enough images from citizen scientists to train an algorithm to recognise individual sunfish. With this information, we will be able to keep track of individuals, measure growth rates in the wild, seasonal abundances and a wealth of other important variables and data points. Ideally, we want to use state-of-the-art software and artificial intelligence for individual identification of sunfish in Galapagos.
Why should people consider getting involved in citizen science projects?
People can join in the fun of discovery, track sunfish non-invasively for the first time, and reveal hidden life histories. Galapagos is the best place to do this work, as there is a sunfish population here all year round.
Support scientists in developing conservation strategies for sunfish in Galapagos by reporting your sightings of this unique group of species.
What impact are citizen scientists having on the conservation of sunfish in Galapagos?
Once we gather enough images (we estimate that we need at least 1,500 images), we will have a large enough database to train these powerful image algorithms. Then we can start to get insight into the deep natural history of sunfish in this remote Archipelago.
What inspired you to focus your research on sunfish?
Sunfish are one of the strangest fish in the sea in terms of their biomechanics (how they move), which is my first big interest, and they have an important role to play in the ocean in that, as they age, they focus more on gelatinous zooplankton for their prey, which is a prey source only open to a select few megafauna.
How does understanding the movement patterns of sunfish around Galapagos help with their conservation?
The big question here in Galapagos is, where are the small sunfish, and where are the large ones? If we could track an individual over the long term, we could answer these questions. The main species in Galapagos is Mola alexandrini. Masturus sp. have shown up occasionally, but none of the other species, Ranzania laevis (the slender sunfish), Mola mola (the ocean sunfish), or Mola tecta (the hoodwinker sunfish), have appeared, although the literature lists Ranzania laevis and Mola mola as being in Galapagos. The more eyes looking and snapping photos and videos of sunfish, the better.
What is one interesting fact about sunfish that people might not know?
People are shocked to find out that the spinal cord of the sunfish is shorter than its brain!
Planning a trip to Galapagos? Being prepared and informed will help you get the most out of your visit whilst ensuring that you keep your impact to a minimum.
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