Abstract
: Drones are often considered an unobtrusive method of monitoring terrestrial wildlife; however research into whether drones disturb wildlife is in its early stages. This research investigated the potential impacts of drone monitoring on a large terrestrial mammal, the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), in urban and peri-urban environments. We assessed the response of kangaroos to drone monitoring by analysing kangaroo behaviour prior to and during drone deployments using a linear modelling approach. We also explored factors that influenced kangaroo responses including drone altitude, site characteristics and kangaroo population dynamics and demographics. We showed that drones elicit a vigilance response, but that kangaroos rarely fled from the drone. However, kangaroos were most likely to flee from a drone flown at an altitude of 30 m. This study suggests that drone altitude is a key consideration for minimising disturbance of large terrestrial mammals and that drone flights at an altitude of 60–100 m above ground level will minimise behavioural impacts. It also highlights the need for more research to assess the level of intrusion and other impacts that drone surveys have on the behaviour of wildlife and the accuracy of the data produced.
Highlights
There is growing interest in the use of drones as a tool in wildlife ecology as the technology has become more available and less expensive in recent years [1]
A review of disturbance caused by unmanned aircraft systems [14] found that the type of drone and flight pattern used in surveys influenced the strength of the behavioural response of target animals
Our research provides insights into the behavioural responses of a large mammal species to drone surveys
Summary
There is growing interest in the use of drones as a tool in wildlife ecology as the technology has become more available and less expensive in recent years [1]. While many are utilising drones to monitor and count [2] terrestrial [3] and marine wildlife, few studies have assessed the impact of this type of monitoring on the behaviour of terrestrial mammals [4]. Most studies assessing behavioural responses of wildlife to drones have focused on marine vertebrates [5,6,7,8] and birds [9,10,11,12]. The characteristics of the drone and flight scheme adopted influence animal behaviour. A review of disturbance caused by unmanned aircraft systems [14] found that the type of drone and flight pattern used in surveys influenced the strength of the behavioural response of target animals. The altitude at which the drone is flown has been shown to influence responses of seabirds, but the effect varied between species [11,15,16]
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