Measuring behavioral responses of sea turtles, saltwater crocodiles, and crested terns to drone disturbance to define ethical operating thresholds
Measuring behavioral responses of sea turtles, saltwater crocodiles, and crested terns to drone disturbance to define ethical operating thresholds
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0194460
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发表时间：
2018-03-21
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Douglas, Ryan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bevan, Elizabeth;Whiting, Scott;Douglas, Ryan
无人机正越来越多地以创新方式被用于加强环境研究和保护。尽管它们在野生动物研究中被广泛使用，但很少有科学合理的指南提供接近野生动物的最小距离，以将视觉和听觉干扰降至最低。这些距离对于确保行为和调查数据没有观察者偏差至关重要，并构成动物伦理和科学许可审批要求的基础。在本研究中，我们记录了三种海龟（绿海龟、Chelonia mydas，平背海龟、Natator depressus，玳瑁、Eretmochelys imbricata）、湾鳄（Crocodylus porosus）和凤头燕鸥（Thalasseus bergii）对在北领地和西澳大利亚飞行的一架小型商用（1.4千克）多旋翼无人机的行为反应。在筑巢海滩附近的近岸水域或觅食栖息地的海龟，在无人机处于20 - 30米及以上高度时，没有表现出逃避行为（例如快速下潜），对于在藻类覆盖的浅礁上觅食的幼年绿海龟和玳瑁，在10米及以上高度时也没有逃避行为。成年雌性平背海龟在爬上沙滩筑巢或挖掘身体坑或卵室时，不会被在10米高度向前飞行或静止的无人机所阻碍。相比之下，当无人机在50米以下高度出现时，飞越会引发鳄鱼的一系列行为，包括轻微的头部侧向移动、逃窜或完全潜入水中。同样，当无人机在60米以下高度飞行时，栖息在沙洲上的一群凤头燕鸥表现出受扰行为（例如飞行反应）。当前的研究展示了不同物种的各种行为干扰阈值，在行为和保护研究中确定无人机的操作条件时应予以考虑。
Drones are being increasingly used in innovative ways to enhance environmental research and conservation. Despite their widespread use for wildlife studies, there are few scientifically justified guidelines that provide minimum distances at which wildlife can be approached to minimize visual and auditory disturbance. These distances are essential to ensure that behavioral and survey data have no observer bias and form the basis of requirements for animal ethics and scientific permit approvals. In the present study, we documented the behaviors of three species of sea turtle (green turtles, Chelonia mydas, flatback turtles, Natator depressus, hawksbill turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata), saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus), and crested terns (Thalasseus bergil) in response to a small commercially available (1.4 kg) multirotor drone flown in Northern Territory and Western Australia. Sea turtles in nearshore waters off nesting beaches or in foraging habitats exhibited no evasive behaviors (e.g. rapid diving) in response to the drone at or above 20-30 m altitude, and at or above 10 m altitude for juvenile green and hawksbill turtles foraging on shallow, algae-covered reefs. Adult female flatback sea turtles were not deterred by drones flying forward or stationary at 10 m altitude when crawling up the beach to nest or digging a body pit or egg chamber. In contrast, flyovers elicited a range of behaviors from crocodiles, including minor, lateral head movements, fleeing, or complete submergence when a drone was present below 50 m altitude. Similarly, a colony of crested terns resting on a sand-bank displayed disturbance behaviors (e.g. flight response) when a drone was flown below 60 m altitude. The current study demonstrates a variety of behavioral disturbance thresholds for diverse species and should be considered when establishing operating conditions for drones in behavioral and conservation studies.