Male elephant seal
TOPP is another great website I recently discovered that I wanted to share. TOPP actually stands for Tagging of Pacific Predators. On the home page you can see where tagged animals have traveled including a white shark, a tuna, a male elephant seal and a leatherback turtle to name a few.
There is so much information on this website that it takes some time to find it all. In the bottom right corner there is a great ocean news section with links to recent news stories. Not all the pages are up to date, for example the “Ask A Researcher” page hasn’t been updated since 2009, but the coolest website function is!
On the left hand side just under the header, there’s a box that says TOPP Near Real-Time Animal Tracks. Clicking on that box takes you to the most up to date information on Pacific predators being tracked. Here you can see colorful lines showing where tagged Pacific predators have traveled and scrolling over the lines reveals the time frame. Thanks to this website I learned about the salmon shark, an animal I wasn’t familiar with before.
So take some time to check out TOPP, the information is excellent and even the less up to date information is still fascinating.
Whoa! TOPP is a VERY cool website. I am obsessed with sharks and *thought* I knew a lot about them – but the salmon shark? That was a new one for me. Thanks, Carolyn – awesome post, as always. It’s not even 9:00 a.m. and I learned something amazing! 🙂
Way cool! The imagination gets a real workout with those maps!
TOPP is Tops for me. Every time i go up north, I make a point in stopping at Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery to see those lovable pinnipeds. Thanks for bringing the attention of this site to us, Carolyn.
Hi there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you
knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form?
I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having
trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!
Hello! I have a tech guru who helps me with those types of things, I’m sure she can tell you! Here’s her website if you would like to get in touch with her: http://www.kimwoodbridge.com/
TOPP is Tops for me. Every time i go up north, I make a point in stopping at Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery to see those lovable pinnipeds. Thanks for bringing the attention of this site to us, Carolyn.
“Ask A Researcher” page hasn’t been updated since 2009, but the coolest website function is!