Unmanned aerial vehicles (hereafter drones) are rapidly replacing manned aircraft as the preferred tool used for aerial wildlife surveys, but questions remain about which survey protocols are most effective and least impactful on wildlife behaviors. We evaluated the effects of drone overflights on nontarget species to inform the development of a Florida mottled duck (MODU; Anas fulvigula fulvigula) survey. Our objectives were to (1) evaluate the effect of flight altitude on the behavior of marsh birds, (2) evaluate the effect of altitude on a surveyor’s ability to identify the species of detected birds, and (3) test protocols for upcoming MODU surveys. We flew 120 continuously moving transects at altitudes ranging from 12 to 91 m and modeled variables that influenced detection, species identification, and behavior of nontarget species. Few marsh birds were disturbed during drone flights, but we were unable to confidently detect birds at the two highest altitudes, and we experienced difficulties identifying the species of birds detected in video collected at 30 m. Our findings indicate that MODUs could be surveyed at altitudes as low as 12–30 m with minimal impact to adjacent marsh birds and that larger-bodied nontarget marsh species can be identified from videos collected during MODU drone surveys.


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Impacts of Drone Flight Altitude on Behaviors and Species Identification of Marsh Birds in Florida


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2023




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown




    Appropriate Drone Flight Altitude for Horse Behavioral Observation

    Tomoko Saitoh / Moyu Kobayashi | DOAJ | 2021

    Free access

    HIGH-ALTITUDE DRONE

    JONIOT JAQUES | European Patent Office | 2016

    Free access

    High-altitude drone

    JONIOT JAQUES | European Patent Office | 2019

    Free access

    DRONE HAUTE ALTITUDE

    JONIOT JACQUES | European Patent Office | 2017

    Free access

    Battery pack charge status monitoring Device by drone flight altitude and flight mode switching

    KIM JONG HOON / LEE PYEONG YEON / PARK JIN HYEONG et al. | European Patent Office | 2019

    Free access