Recording animal vocalizations from a UAV: bat echolocation during roost re-entry

Kloepper, Laura N.; Kinniry, Morgan

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-26122-z

Cited by 26 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…In the past, a study by Jensen and Miller (1999) with a vertical array of three microphones on a 15 meter pole elucidated the links between echolocation features and flight height in E. serotinus, a European bat. A study by Kloepper and Kinniry (2018)…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bat sonar and wing morphology predict species vertical niche

Roemer¹,

Coulon

Disca³

et al. 2019

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bat sonar and wing morphology predict species vertical niche

Roemer¹,

Coulon

Disca³

et al. 2019

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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“…This issue could be further overcome by technological development (e.g., a quieter UAS or higher quality microphones) as well as an innovative recording strategy. Such a strategy could be inspired by new recording techniques, such as the use of a winch unwinding a wire when the UAS is hovering, the combination of bioacoustic recordings with other UAS sensors (for example, thermal infrared imagery) [25], or the use of three-dimensional models derived from UAS visible imagery [41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Little literature can be found on the bioacoustic monitoring of bats using UASs. To date, Kloepper and Kinniry [25] investigated the subject in a very specific context. They studied the echolocation signals from Tadarida brasiliensis during group flight and cave re-entry by combining UAS recordings with thermal infrared imagery analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ears in the Sky: Potential of Drones for the Bioacoustic Monitoring of Birds and Bats

Michez

Broset

Lejeune

2021

Drones

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In the context of global biodiversity loss, wildlife population monitoring is a major challenge. Some innovative techniques such as the use of drones—also called unmanned aerial vehicle/system (UAV/UAS)—offer promising opportunities. The potential of UAS-based wildlife census using high-resolution imagery is now well established for terrestrial mammals or birds that can be seen on images. Nevertheless, the ability of UASs to detect non-conspicuous species, such as small birds below the forest canopy, remains an open question. This issue can be solved with bioacoustics for acoustically active species such as bats and birds. In this context, UASs represent an interesting solution that could be deployed on a larger scale, at lower risk for the operator, and over hard-to-reach locations, such as forest canopies or complex topographies, when compared with traditional protocols (fixed location recorders placed or handled by human operators). In this context, this study proposes a methodological framework to assess the potential of UASs in bioacoustic surveys for birds and bats, using low-cost audible and ultrasound recorders mounted on a low-cost quadcopter UAS (DJI Phantom 3 Pro). The proposed methodological workflow can be straightforwardly replicated in other contexts to test the impact of other UAS bioacoustic recording platforms in relation to the targeted species and the specific UAS design. This protocol allows one to evaluate the sensitivity of UAS approaches through the estimate of the effective detection radius for the different species investigated at several flight heights. The results of this study suggest a strong potential for the bioacoustic monitoring of birds but are more contrasted for bat recordings, mainly due to quadcopter noise (i.e., electronic speed controller (ESC) noise) but also, in a certain manner, to the experimental design (use of a directional speaker with limited call intensity). Technical developments, such as the use of a winch to safely extent the distance between the UAS and the recorder during UAS sound recordings or the development of an innovative platform, such as a plane–blimp hybrid UAS, should make it possible to solve these issues.

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“…Combining passive acoustic monitoring with technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and global positioning system (GPS) data loggers would yield detailed evidence of bat activity patterns. For instance, LiDAR mapping of woodland at a fine scale, paired with passive acoustic monitoring, may provide evidence for the impacts of woodland management and fragmentation on bat activity (Froidevaux et al 2016) have recently been combined with sensors to assess call modulation by Tadarida brasiliensis during roost re-entry in response to flight height or the presence of conspecifics (Kloepper & Kinniry 2018). However, use of this technology for monitoring biodiversity is in its infancy and the responses of bats to such airborne devices should be cautiously assessed to prevent harm.…”

Section: Emerging Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of European bat population change: a review reveals evidence gaps

et al. 2021

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1. Bat populations are thought to have suffered significant declines in the past century throughout Europe. Fortunately, there are some signs of recovery; for instance, of the 11 species monitored in the UK, population trends of five are increasing. The drivers of past losses and recent trends are unclear; identifying them will enable targeted conservation strategies to support further recovery. 2. We review the evidence linking proposed drivers to impacts on bat populations in Europe, using the results of a previous cross-taxa semi-quantitative assessment as a framework. Broadly, the drivers reviewed relate to land-use practices, climate change, pollution, development and infrastructure, and human disturbance. We highlight where evidence gaps or conflicts present barriers to successful conservation and review emerging opportunities to address these gaps. 3. We find that the relative importance or impacts of the potential drivers of bat population change are not well understood or quantified, with conflicting evidence in many cases. To close key gaps in the evidence for responses of bat populations to environmental change, future studies should focus on the impacts of climate change, urbanisation, offshore wind turbines, and water pollution, as well as on mitigation measures and the synergistic effects of putative drivers. 4. To increase available evidence of drivers of bat population change, we propose utilising advances in monitoring tools and statistical methods, together with robust quantitative assessment of conservation interventions to mitigate threats and enable the effective conservation of these protected species.

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Recording animal vocalizations from a UAV: bat echolocation during roost re-entry

Cited by 26 publications

References 33 publications

Bat sonar and wing morphology predict species vertical niche

Bat sonar and wing morphology predict species vertical niche

Ears in the Sky: Potential of Drones for the Bioacoustic Monitoring of Birds and Bats

Drivers of European bat population change: a review reveals evidence gaps

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