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Population census of a large common tern colony with a small unmanned aircraft

Chabot, Dominique ; Craik, Shawn R ; Bird, David M Chiaradia, André

PloS one, 2015-04, Vol.10 (4), p.e0122588-e0122588 [Periódico revisado por pares]

United States: Public Library of Science

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Título:
Population census of a large common tern colony with a small unmanned aircraft
Autor: Chabot, Dominique ; Craik, Shawn R ; Bird, David M
Chiaradia, André
Assuntos: Accuracy ; Achillea millefolium ; Aerial photography ; Aerial surveys ; Aircraft ; Animals ; Aviation ; Birds ; Census ; Censuses ; Charadriiformes - growth & development ; Charadriiformes - physiology ; Coasts ; Coefficient of variation ; Colonies ; Comparative analysis ; Drone aircraft ; Evaluation ; Geography ; Ground cover ; Habituation, Psychophysiologic - physiology ; Image quality ; Islands ; Light ; National parks ; Nesting Behavior - physiology ; Nests ; New Brunswick ; Photography - methods ; Population ; Population Density ; Population Dynamics ; Population statistics ; Regression coefficients ; Remote sensing ; Remotely piloted vehicles ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sterna hirundo ; Studies ; Unmanned aerial vehicles ; Unmanned aircraft ; Vehicles, Remotely piloted ; Visibility ; Waterfowl ; Weather ; Weather conditions ; Wildlife conservation
É parte de: PloS one, 2015-04, Vol.10 (4), p.e0122588-e0122588
Notas: ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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Conceived and designed the experiments: DC SRC DMB. Performed the experiments: DC SRC. Analyzed the data: DC SRC. Wrote the paper: DC SRC DMB.
Current address: ING Robotic Aviation, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Competing Interests: The principal author wishes to clarify that although he is currently employed by the commercial company ING Robotic Aviation, the research described in the manuscript—including study design, data collection, data analyses and formulation of conclusions—was entirely conducted prior to his employment, as part of his PhD thesis research at McGill University (Montreal, QC, Canada) in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, under the supervision of co-author Dr. David M. Bird. ING Robotic Aviation did not provide any funds or in-kind contributions to the research, nor did it have any part in planning or conducting the research, analyzing the data, formulating the conclusions, or writing or revising the manuscript. Moreover, the principal author’s employment at ING Robotic Aviation does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
Descrição: Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) may be useful for conducting high-precision, low-disturbance waterbird surveys, but limited data exist on their effectiveness. We evaluated the capacity of a small UAS to census a large (>6,000 nests) coastal Common tern (Sterna hirundo) colony of which ground surveys are particularly disruptive and time-consuming. We compared aerial photographic tern counts to ground nest counts in 45 plots (5-m radius) throughout the colony at three intervals over a nine-day period in order to identify sources of variation and establish a coefficient to estimate nest numbers from UAS surveys. We also compared a full colony ground count to full counts from two UAS surveys conducted the following day. Finally, we compared colony disturbance levels over the course of UAS flights to matched control periods. Linear regressions between aerial and ground counts in plots had very strong correlations in all three comparison periods (R2 = 0.972-0.989, P < 0.001) and regression coefficients ranged from 0.928-0.977 terns/nest. Full colony aerial counts were 93.6% and 94.0%, respectively, of the ground count. Varying visibility of terns with ground cover, weather conditions and image quality, and changing nest attendance rates throughout incubation were likely sources of variation in aerial detection rates. Optimally timed UAS surveys of Common tern colonies following our method should yield population estimates in the 93-96% range of ground counts. Although the terns were initially disturbed by the UAS flying overhead, they rapidly habituated to it. Overall, we found no evidence of sustained disturbance to the colony by the UAS. We encourage colonial waterbird researchers and managers to consider taking advantage of this burgeoning technology.
Editor: United States: Public Library of Science
Idioma: Inglês

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Population census of a large common tern colony with a small unmanned aircraft

Chabot, Dominique ; Craik, Shawn R ; Bird, David M Chiaradia, André

United States: Public Library of Science

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