The Whale Shark

A diver swims in front of the mouth of a massive whale shark as it feeds on plankton in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Whale sharks, the planet's largest fish, are actually vegetarian.

Picture: Mauricio Handler/Handlerphoto.com/solent

Whaleshark Movements traced

Whale shark pose

New compact and rugged gadgets can be attached to marine animals. They record pressure, temperature, acceleration and other information, helping biologists to study them in new detail.

But they also require new ways of presenting data.

Researchers at Swansea University, UK, are trying to make it easier to understand the data from accelerometers on tagged animals, which record motion like a Wii videogame controller.

This 3D plot shows the orientation of an animal's body in the water over time, in this case for a whale shark.

(Image: Swansea University)