An experimental approach to exploring the feasibility of unmanned aerial vehicle and thermal imaging in terrestrial and arboreal mammals research

Abstract

The visual camouflage of many species living in the dense cover of the tropical rainforest become obstacles to conducting species monitoring. Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) combined with thermal infrared imaging (TIR) can rapidly scan large areas from above and detect wildlife that has a body temperature that contrasts with its surrounding environment. This research tested the feasibility of DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual with FLIR as aerial survey platforms to detect terrestrial and arboreal mammals in the five tree density classes in the remaining natural environment on the IPB University campus. This study demonstrated that large-size terrestrial mammal thermal signatures are visible in sparse vegetation at daytime and in the area under the canopy at night monitoring. In contrast, arboreal mammals were better detected in at early morning and night. Survey timing highly influenced the results – the best quality thermal images were obtained at sunrise, late evening, and at night. The drones allow safe operation at low altitudes with low levels of disturbance to animals. Both terrestrial and arboreal mammals are well detected and easily identified when the drone is flying at an altitude < 50 m HAGL. Our preliminary results indicated that thermal surveys from drones are a promising method.

Using Drones with Thermal Imaging to Estimate Population Counts of European Hare (<em>Lepus europaeus</em>) in Denmark

“…In this study hare and roe deer were observed to react to the drone when flying at altitudes below 40 m, despite the M2EA being equipped with noise reducing propellers. Similarly, Rahman et al [22] and Rahman and Setiawan [40] found that flying at altitudes below 50 m increased the risk of disturbing the animals.…”

“…[20,21] and deer (Cervidae spp.) [18,22,23], along with forest dwelling species, e.g. koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) [24] and macaques (Macaca spp.)…”

“…koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) [24] and macaques (Macaca spp.) [22], and species camouflaged by their cryptic fur or plumage [25].…”

“…Research demonstrating the use of drone surveys with thermal imaging for detecting and monitoring small mammals is limited, with the majority of previous studies focusing on larger mammals, such as deer (Cervidae spp. ), alpaca (Vicugna pacos), and long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) [19,22,23,39,40]. Thus, there is a need for studies assessing the use of drones equipped with thermal cameras as a monitoring tool for smaller mammals.…”

Pemantauan Cerdas Berbasis Drone Thermal: Membangun Data Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia

“…Gambar 2. Bingkai video yang memperlihat-kan satwa yang tertutup kanopi pohon selama pemantauan pada (A) malam dan (B) siang hari (Rahman et al 2020).…”