INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2017.1390621
Exploring the feasibility of unmanned aerial vehicles and thermal imaging for ungulate surveys in forests - preliminary results Julia Witczuk
a
, Stanisław Pagacz
a
, Anna Zmarzb and Maciej Cypelc
a Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland; bDepartment of Geoinformatics, Cartography and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; cTaxus SI, Warsaw, Poland
ABSTRACT
ARTICLE HISTORY
Effective wildlife management and conservation require reliable assessments of animal abundance. However, no ungulate monitoring methods is entirely satisfying in terms of cost-effectiveness and accuracy. A new method combining unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and thermal infrared (TIR) imaging may have great potential as a tool for ungulate surveys. Drones enable safe operations at low flying altitudes, and at night – a time that often offers the optimal conditions for wildlife monitoring. To assess the feasibility of the proposed method we used fixed-wing drones with TIR cameras to conduct test surveys in Drawieński National Park, Poland. We demonstrated that ungulate thermal signatures are visible both in leafless deciduous and in pine-dominated coniferous forests. Survey timing highly influenced the results – the best quality thermal images were obtained at sunrise, late evening, and at night. Our preliminary results indicated that thermal surveys from drones are a promising method for ungulate enumeration. We demonstrated that with ground resolution of ~10 cm it is possible to visibly distinguish large species (i.e. red deer) and achieve a good level of area coverage. The main challenges of the method are difficulties in species identification due to relatively low resolution of TIR cameras, regulations limiting drone operations to visual line of sight, and high dependence on weather.
Received 23 April 2017 Accepted 27 September 2017
1. Introduction Reliable assessment of population size is a necessary requirement for effective wildlife management and conservation of animal species. For ungulates, accurate estimation of animal numbers is required to set adequate hunting quotas, to track population responses to management actions, and to control effectiveness of conservation efforts in the case of protected and endangered species. Adequate game management practices enable maintenance of healthy populations and reduction of damages to agriculture and forestry caused by wild ungulates. CONTACT Julia Witczuk
[email protected], Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warsaw, Poland Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Please use the following link to access the full text of the article: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/5NdpRb2gqXI745jts8Wx/full
