Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicle shape, flight path and camera type for waterfowl surveys: disturbance effects and species recognition.
Evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicle shape, flight path and camera type for waterfowl surveys: disturbance effects and species recognition.
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作者：
McEvoy JF;Hall GP;McDonald PG
近年来，无人机在生态研究中的使用迅速增长，但很少有研究评估这些工具对重点学科的干扰影响，特别是在观察水禽等易受干扰的物种时。在这项研究中，我们评估了一系列无人机形状和大小对2015年3月至5月期间在澳大利亚东部两个地点调查的自由生活，非繁殖水禽的干扰水平，以及机载数字成像系统提供足够分辨率以明确识别这些分类群的能力。我们发现很少或没有明显的干扰影响，野生，混合物种的水禽群时，无人机飞行至少60米以上的水位（固定翼模型）或40米以上的个人（多旋翼模型）。在较低的高度，当固定翼无人机直接接近受试者或在动物附近迅速改变高度和/或方向时，可以看到从无人机游泳离开水面和飞离无人机的干扰。利用不会引起干扰的切向进场飞行路径，商用机载光学设备能够捕获足够质量的图像，以识别水禽，甚至更小的类群，如燕子。我们的研究结果表明，通过适当的起飞和着陆地点，飞行路径和仔细的无人机型号选择，无人机可以提供一个很好的工具，准确地调查野生水禽种群，并提供档案数据，比传统的方法，如载人航空调查，后勤问题较少。
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for ecological research has grown rapidly in recent years, but few studies have assessed the disturbance impacts of these tools on focal subjects, particularly when observing easily disturbed species such as waterfowl. In this study we assessed the level of disturbance that a range of UAV shapes and sizes had on free-living, non-breeding waterfowl surveyed in two sites in eastern Australia between March and May 2015, as well as the capability of airborne digital imaging systems to provide adequate resolution for unambiguous species identification of these taxa. We found little or no obvious disturbance effects on wild, mixed-species flocks of waterfowl when UAVs were flown at least 60m above the water level (fixed wing models) or 40m above individuals (multirotor models). Disturbance in the form of swimming away from the UAV through to leaving the water surface and flying away from the UAV was visible at lower altitudes and when fixed-wing UAVs either approached subjects directly or rapidly changed altitude and/or direction near animals. Using tangential approach flight paths that did not cause disturbance, commercially available onboard optical equipment was able to capture images of sufficient quality to identify waterfowl and even much smaller taxa such as swallows. Our results show that with proper planning of take-off and landing sites, flight paths and careful UAV model selection, UAVs can provide an excellent tool for accurately surveying wild waterfowl populations and provide archival data with fewer logistical issues than traditional methods such as manned aerial surveys.