Design and fabrication of a stereo-video camera equipped unoccupied aerial vehicle for measuring sea turtles, sharks, and other marine fauna

Piacenza, Susan E.; Piacenza, Joseph; Faller, Kenneth John; Robinson, Nathan J.; Siegfried, Tabitha R.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0276382

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 51 publications

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“…The use of drones has become more common in the field of marine sciences for measurements of marine mammals. Using drones there is possible to make long and wide measurements of cetaceans (Durban et al, 2015(Durban et al, , 2016Burnett et al, 2019), pinnipeds (Krause et al, 2017), reptiles (Myburgh, 2021;Piacenza et al, 2022) with great effectiveness, being a non-invasive technology that allows us to obtain photographs at a lower altitude than with a manned aircraft.…”

Section: Morphology and Measurement Of Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles for wildlife research

De la Llata Quiroga

2023

BIOCYT

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In this bibliographic review, I provide an overview of wildlife studies that have been conducted using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) and the opportunities that exist for their future implementation. Drones are useful for census and population trends, patterns of habitat use, species identification, measurement of individuals, assessing the anthropogenic effect on species and their habitat. Drones have advantages over manned aircraft to conduct wildlife surveys, such as obtaining georeferenced images and videos, safety for the researcher, low cost, and the need for little logistics. However, drones have disadvantages, such as limited flight time and limited distance range, may present a risk when flying near wildlife, it is necessary to take certain measures to implement and comply with the legislation of each country. Through case studies it is demonstrated how the images acquired with drones have great potential to revolutionize the study of wildlife.

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Section: Morphology and Measurement Of Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles for wildlife research

De la Llata Quiroga

2023

BIOCYT

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Short‐Term Effects of Attaching Animal‐Borne Devices on the Behavior of Juvenile Green Turtles

Robinson,

Doñate‐Ordóñez,

Chatzievangelou

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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The use of animal‐borne devices (= biologgers) has revolutionized the study of marine megafauna, yet there remains a paucity of data concerning the behavioral and physiological impacts of biologger attachment and retention. Here, we used animal‐borne cameras to characterize the behavior and dive duration of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in The Bahamas for up to 210 min after biologger deployment (n = 58). For a “control,” we used unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) to collect comparable data from nonhandled green turtles (n = 25) in the same habitats. Animal‐borne footage revealed that immediately after release turtles spent 70%–80% of their time swimming with a mean dive duration of 45.3 ± 34.3 s (SD). Over time, the percentage of time spent swimming decreased alongside an increase in dive duration until reaching a plateau around 90 min. However, the “control” UAV data for time spent swimming and dive durations were more comparable to the behaviors observed immediately after biologger deployment than during the plateau. We observed no significant differences in dive durations based on body size, and differences in behaviors based on body size were also minimal. We conclude that the effects of handling stress and biologger attachment on the behavior and dive duration of juvenile green turtles are evident up to 90 min postdeployment. After that, it is possible that either: (1) the effects of biologger deployment and retention are negligible, but UAVs may produce biased data that overestimates the proportion of time turtles typically spend swimming or (2) longer durations (> 210 min) are necessary for turtle behaviors to return to nonhandled levels and UAVs accurately represent the proportion of time turtles typically spend swimming. Answering this question, alongside further research into the physiological and behavioral implications of handling stress and biologger attachment, is essential to improve ethical biologging guidelines for sea turtles.

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Approaching a population‐level assessment of body size in pinnipeds using drones, an early warning of environmental degradation

Carroll,

Infantes,

Pagan

et al. 2024

Remote Sens Ecol Conserv

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Body mass is a fundamental indicator of animal health closely linked to survival and reproductive success. Systematic assessment of body mass for a large proportion of a population can allow early detection of changes likely to impact population growth, facilitating responsive management and a mechanistic understanding of ecological trends. One challenge with integrating body mass assessment into monitoring is sampling enough animals to detect trends and account for individual variation. Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are philopatric marine mammals responsive to regional environmental changes, resulting in their use as an indicator species. We present a novel method for the non‐invasive and semi‐automatic assessment of harbour seal body condition, using unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs/drones). Morphological parameters are automatically measured in georeferenced images and used to estimate volume, which is then translated to estimated mass. Remote observations of known individuals are utilized to calibrate the method. We achieve a high level of accuracy (mean absolute error of 4.5 kg or 10.5% for all seals and 3.2 kg or 12.7% for pups‐of‐the‐year). We systematically apply the method to wild seals during the Spring pupping season and Autumn over 2 years, achieving a near‐population‐level assessment for pups on land (82.5% measured). With reference to previous mark‐recapture work linking Autumn pup weights to survival, we estimate mean expected probability of over‐winter survival (mean = 0.89, standard deviation = 0.08). This work marks a significant step forward for the non‐invasive assessment of body condition in pinnipeds and could provide daily estimates of body mass for thousands of individuals. It can act as an early warning for deteriorating environmental conditions and be utilized as an integrative tool for wildlife monitoring. It also enables estimation of yearly variation in demographic rates which can be utilized in parameterizing models of population growth with relevance for conservation and evolutionary biology.

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Design and fabrication of a stereo-video camera equipped unoccupied aerial vehicle for measuring sea turtles, sharks, and other marine fauna

Cited by 7 publications

References 51 publications

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles for wildlife research

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles for wildlife research

Short‐Term Effects of Attaching Animal‐Borne Devices on the Behavior of Juvenile Green Turtles

Approaching a population‐level assessment of body size in pinnipeds using drones, an early warning of environmental degradation

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