We all remember the dancing debacle that was Left Shark at Katy Perry’s 2015 Superbowl XLIX halftime show (you know, one of two back-up dancers sporting giant shark costumes that seemingly couldn’t keep on cue or follow the routine).
Following the hot mess that was out-of-sync Left Shark, there was much speculation about why he just couldn’t keep up – could he not remember his moves? Was his costume getting in the way of his dancing prowess?
Perhaps, however, if Left Shark had been sporting what’s known in the scientific world as an Accelerometer Data Logger (ADL) we might have been better equipped to understand the reason behind his epic performance fail.
ADLs are a piece of Fitbit-like technology that track movement and behaviour of animals in their natural environment. It’s the kind of technology that scientists from Murdoch University have been using to observe and understand the behaviour of actual sharks that live in the actual ocean. More specifically, the globally vulnerable sicklefin lemon sharks.
Much like how you would use Fitbit-like technology to track your own movements, ADLs can do this for sharks. While we generally become more aware of shark activity during the summer period, this type of research and observation has been running throughout the past year.
Watch the video below to learn more about how scientists use this technology to better understand and protect sicklefin lemon sharks.