Radio-tracking wildlife with drones: a viewshed analysis quantifying survey coverage across diverse landscapes
Debbie Saunders
A H , Huyen Nguyen B , Saul Cowen C , Michael Magrath D E , Karen Marsh F , Sarah Bell G and Josh Bobruk A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Wildlife Drones Pty Ltd, Gould Building, Daley Road, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia.
B Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, Cuc Phuong Commune, Nho Quan District, Ninh Binh Province, 432850, Vietnam.
C Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 37 Wildlife Place, Woodvale, WA 6026, Australia.
D Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Elliott Avenue, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia.
E School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia.
F Australian National University, Research School of Biology, RN Robertson Building, Biology Place, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia.
G New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Level 2, 48–52 Wingewarra Street, Dubbo, NSW 2830, Australia.
H Corresponding author. Email: debbie@wildlifedrones.net
Wildlife Research 49(1) 1-10 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR21033
Submitted: 23 February 2021 Accepted: 5 November 2021 Published: 4 February 2022
Abstract
Radio-tracking tagged wildlife remains a critical research technique for understanding the movements, behaviours and survival of many species. However, traditional hand-held tracking techniques on the ground are labour intensive and time consuming. Therefore, researchers are increasingly seeking new technologies to address these challenges, including drone radio-tracking receivers. Following the implementation of drone radio-tracking techniques for five different threatened species projects within different habitat and landscape types, we identified the need to quantify the relative spatial extent of surveys using both drone and hand-held techniques for each project. This was undertaken using viewshed analyses. These analyses demonstrated that survey coverage with drone-based radio-tracking was substantially greater than that of hand-held radio-tracking for all species and landscapes examined. Within mountainous landscapes, drone radio-tracking covered up to four times the area of hand-held tracking, whereas in flat to undulating landscapes, drone surveys covered up to 11.3 times the area that could be surveyed using hand-held techniques from the same locations on the ground. The viewshed analyses were also found to be a valuable visualisation tool for identifying areas for targeted surveys to reduce the risk of ‘losing’ tagged animals, which has traditionally been one of the biggest radio-tracking challenges.
Keywords: movement, drone, wildlife, radio-telemetry, localisation, unmanned aerial vehicle, VHF tag, threatened species.
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