Scientists are now able to research and look closely at whales thanks to a new device that collects data. The technology is called an "advanced dive behavior" (ADB) tag and it can give scientists the much needed data they need to study whales including behavior, how they catch prey and how they traverse through the ocean.

Researchers from Oregon State University stated that the ADB tag has allowed them to make the whales into their scientific researchers. They found that sperm whales can be submerged for up to 75 minutes down the ocean for more than a thousand meters deep.

Scientists are given a new perspective on how whales react to water temperature changes, their feeding pattern and how they interact with other underwater animals. The ADB tag is also letting them find out more about how sonar works underwater and how seismic events unfold underwater. The results of the study are detailed in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

"It gives us vast amounts of new data about water temperatures through space and time, over large distances and in remote locations. We're learning more about whales, and the whales are helping us to learn more about our own planet," Bruce Mate of the University's Marine Mammal Institute in the College of Agricultural Sciences said.

According to Digital Trends, scientists are only able to get the data when the ADB tags are detached from the whales. The tags float to the surface of the water and then scientists can locate it via GPS trackers and LED lights when they search for it in the ocean.

The scientists have used the ADB tag on mainly three types of whales including blue, sperm and fin whales. The "tag" technology was first developed in 2007 and was improved over the years with the support of the US Navy and Office of Naval Research.

What do you think of scientists using whales to learn more about the species and the ocean ecology? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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