Comparing occupied and unoccupied aircraft surveys of wildlife populations: Assessing the gray seal (<i>Halichoerus grypus</i>) breeding colony on Muskeget Island, USA

New views of humpback whale flow dynamics and oral morphology during prey engulfment

“…These new technologies are rapidly changing the study of wildlife (Bevan et al 2016, Rümmler et al 2016, Schofield et al 2017, Sykora-Bodie et al 2017, Rees et al 2018, Rieucau et al 2018, Weimerskirch et al 2018, Verfuss et al 2019, especially in marine settings where observation had been mostly limited to vessel-based or airborne observers. Because new camera systems allow more rapid (near instantaneous) changes in orientation than most boats and manned aircraft can achieve, animals can be followed and stable vantage points maintained or switched very quickly (Hodgson et al 2013(Hodgson et al , 2017Goebel et al 2015;Koski et al 2015;Durban et al 2016;Fiori et al 2017;Johnston et al 2017;Krause et al 2017;Torres 2017;Burnett et al 2018;Torres et al 2018). Not only have these video recording systems become less expensive and more readily available (Goldbogen and Meir 2014, Nowacek et al 2016, Dawson et al 2017, they are also less noisy and less dangerous to operate (Christiansen et al 2016b), so that they pose fewer risks to animals and likely cause fewer changes in wild animals' natural behavior (Ditmer et al, 2015, Dominguez-Sanchez et al 2018.…”

Comparing manned to unmanned aerial surveys for cetacean monitoring in the Arctic: methods and operational results

“…At this stage in the process of evaluating UAS and associated technology for use in ecology and other nonmilitary disciplines, it is particularly helpful to highlight operational challenges and possible solutions (Curry et al 2004;Koski et al 2015) in addition to reporting research results. Direct comparisons of the ability of different UAS to collect the same or similar data (Johnston et al 2017) is also particularly helpful. By decribing in detail the unique operational challenges involved in using UAS for beyond line-of-sight flights to study animals in the wild, we hope that others may build on our experience and effectively find similar and broader use of this technology.…”

“…While UAS are being used successfully to collect a variety of wildlife data, the vast majority of projects have involved small, relatively inexpensive UAS that collect information relatively close to where the aircraft is launched (Barasona et al 2014;Mulero-Pázmány et al 2015;Christie et al 2016;Johnston et al 2017;Laguna et al 2018). Despite great interest in the potential to use UAS for long-range surveys of marine mammals, studies involving long-range flights have been limited due to cost and the challenge of gaining permission to conduct beyond visual line-of-sight flights with UAS, particularly in the United States.…”

Drones and convolutional neural networks facilitate automated and accurate cetacean species identification and photogrammetry

“…These systems are increasingly being used in projects that span the full spectrum of marine science and conservation applications (Johnston, ), and are now being used in photogrammetric studies on a variety of odontocete and mysticete cetaceans across polar, temperate, and tropical biomes (Durban, Fearnbach, Perryman, & Leroi, ; Christiansen, Dujon, Sprogis, Arnould, & Bejder, ). UAS have improved aerial photogrammetry, as they often provide data of similar, if not better, quality than traditional methods (Johnston et al, ), and are better suited for ephemeral interactions with marine species that live far from regions that can provide aerial imaging support via occupied aircraft.…”

“…UAS have improved aerial photogrammetry, as they often provide data of similar, if not better, quality than traditional methods (Johnston et al, 2017), and are better suited for ephemeral interactions with marine species that live far from regions that can provide aerial imaging support via occupied aircraft.…”