Using drones to reduce human disturbance while monitoring breeding status of an endangered raptor,Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation

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Using drones to reduce human disturbance while monitoring breeding status of an endangered raptor
Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation ( IF 3.9 ) Pub Date : 2021-05-04 , DOI: 10.1002/rse2.206
Diego Gallego _{1,

2} , José H. Sarasola _{1,

2}

Affiliation

In birds, obtaining information related to nest occupancy, offspring status or breeding success is essential for population monitoring, particularly for species of conservation concern. Traditionally, nest monitoring demands a lot of time and effort in order to gather accurate information and avoiding nest disturbance. Instead, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, hereafter drones) present an alternative to traditional methods, but few studies have been done measuring their influence on birds’ behavior and reproductive success. We addressed the utility of drones equipped with an on-board camera in examining nesting status of the endangered Chaco Eagle Buteogallus coronatus in semiarid environments of central Argentina, as well as the degree of disturbance of drone flights to individuals. We performed 76 drone flights at 41 Chaco Eagle nests registering flight duration, tree height, nest relative height and pilot proximity to nest. Of those, 38 flights were done over occupied nests where we recorded adult behavior. Before drone took off, most adult eagles remained in the nests or in the surroundings (<100 m away), particularly during the incubation period and in tall trees. During drone flights, only one adult flew as a response to drone flights. The rest of them remained vigilant or emitted alarm calls while incubating or perched on the nest platform. No attack toward drones was registered. The use of drones for monitoring Chaco Eagle’s nests significantly reduced levels of disturbance when compared with traditional methods where all adults flew away during climbing. Additionally, this method was almost three times faster in comparison to traditional climbing (performed at the end of the reproductive season) and had no negative effects on reproductive success of Chaco Eagles. Although responses to drones could be species-specific, our results encourage researchers to consider and test the use of drones as a less disturbing and rapid method to monitor breeding raptor populations.

中文翻译：

使用无人机减少人为干扰，同时监测濒危猛禽的繁殖状态

在鸟类中，获取与巢穴占用、后代状态或繁殖成功相关的信息对于种群监测至关重要，特别是对于保护关注的物种。传统上，巢穴监测需要花费大量时间和精力来收集准确的信息并避免巢穴干扰。相反，无人驾驶飞行器（UAV，以下简称无人机）是传统方法的替代方案，但很少有研究测量它们对鸟类行为和繁殖成功的影响。我们讨论了配备机载摄像头的无人机在检查濒临灭绝的 Chaco Eagle Buteogallus coronatus 的筑巢状态方面的效用在阿根廷中部的半干旱环境中，以及无人机飞行对个人的干扰程度。我们在 41 个 Chaco Eagle 巢穴进行了 76 次无人机飞行，记录了飞行持续时间、树高、巢穴相对高度和飞行员与巢穴的接近程度。其中，有 38 次飞行是在我们记录成年行为的被占用的巢穴上空进行的。在无人机起飞前，大多数成年鹰留在巢穴或周围（<100 m），特别是在潜伏期和高大的树木中。在无人机飞行期间，只有一名成年人飞行作为对无人机飞行的回应。其余的在孵化或栖息在巢平台上时保持警惕或发出警报。没有记录到对无人机的攻击。与所有成年人在攀爬过程中飞走的传统方法相比，使用无人机监测查科鹰的巢穴显着降低了干扰程度。此外，与传统攀爬（在繁殖季节结束时进行）相比，这种方法几乎快三倍，并且对 Chaco Eagles 的繁殖成功率没有负面影响。尽管对无人机的反应可能因物种而异，但我们的研究结果鼓励研究人员考虑并测试使用无人机作为监测繁殖猛禽种群的一种较少干扰且快速的方法。与传统攀爬（在繁殖季节结束时进行）相比，这种方法几乎快了三倍，并且对 Chaco Eagles 的繁殖成功率没有负面影响。尽管对无人机的反应可能因物种而异，但我们的研究结果鼓励研究人员考虑并测试使用无人机作为监测繁殖猛禽种群的一种较少干扰且快速的方法。与传统攀爬（在繁殖季节结束时进行）相比，这种方法几乎快了三倍，并且对 Chaco Eagles 的繁殖成功率没有负面影响。尽管对无人机的反应可能因物种而异，但我们的研究结果鼓励研究人员考虑并测试使用无人机作为监测繁殖猛禽种群的一种较少干扰且快速的方法。

更新日期：2021-05-04

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