SEAL SIZES AND HABITAT CONDITIONS ASSESSED FROM AERIAL-PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO ANALYSIS

Image analysis was used to assess ice conditions and size seals in sti ll-camera and video images automatically, collected during an explorat ory survey conducted in the West Ice (Greenland Sea) in spring 1990, t o determine the feasibility of using these techniques to examine the d istribution of breeding harp and hooded seals and the environmental co nditions under which seals are found. Images from a Sony CCD video cam era and a still-photo aerial camera provided excellent resolution, whi le a Dage-MTI camera proved to be totally inadequate, due to excessive lag and auto-iris failure. Use of image analysis in future surveys wi ll allow large amounts of data, including environmental conditions, se al sizes, and automatically prepared seal distribution maps, to be col lected quickly from video and still-camera surveys. It is expected tha t the application of these techniques to future surveys will increase the understanding of seal populations and their relationship to their environment.