Climate change is exerting significant impacts on ecosystems worldwide, with alpine regions being particularly vulnerable. Alpine fauna is relatively poorly understood, particularly in terrain which is difficult for humans to survey. Knowledge of alpine species is further limited by a paucity of survey techniques that are widely applicable in this environment. Drones have potential as a low-impact tool for surveying fauna in remote alpine terrain. New Zealand’s diverse alpine lizards are an ideal system for exploring novel survey techniques. We build on previous research demonstrating the potential of drones for surveying alpine lizards by evaluating (1) how closely a drone can approach different alpine lizard species in scree, talus, and tussock-grassland habitats and (2) the effectiveness of drone surveys compared to traditional systematic visual searches for these species and habitats. The drone (model: DJI Mavic Air 2) was able to approach within 0.1–2.5 m of a lizard (mean = 0.77 m) before triggering a flight response. Systematic visual searches outperformed drone surveys in all habitats accessible to human observers. However, drones were relatively effective in talus habitats, demonstrating their potential utility in inaccessible rocky alpine habitats. Improvements to drone technology may further enhance the utility of drone-based surveys in ecological research.


    Zugriff

    Download


    Exportieren, teilen und zitieren



    Titel :

    Flying towards the Future: Using Drones to Detect Lizards in Remote Alpine Terrain


    Beteiligte:


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2024




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Unbekannt




    Testing Drones as a Tool for Surveying Lizards

    Joanne M. Monks / Harriet P. Wills / Carey D. Knox | DOAJ | 2022

    Freier Zugriff

    Tail-Assisted Pitch Control in Flying Lizards

    Ross, Shane D. / Zakaria, Mohamed A. / Socha, John J. et al. | AIAA | 2024


    Autonomous Spacecraft Inspection with Free-Flying Drones

    Sami Mian / Tyler Garrett / Alexander Glandon et al. | NTRS


    Autonomous Spacecraft Inspection with Free-Flying Drones

    Mian, Sami / Garrett, Tyler / Glandon, Alexander et al. | IEEE | 2020


    Autonomous Spacecraft Inspection with Free-Flying Drones

    S. Mian / T. Garrett / A. Glandon et al. | NTIS | 2020