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In recent years, drone technologies have been explored for a range of applications in conservation including (but not limited to) mapping, biodiversity inventories, antipoaching patrols, wildlife tracking, and fire monitoring. The rise of customizable, open-source drones like those of ArduPilot and OpenROV hold promise for more effective conservation applications, and combined with other monitoring sensors and devices, they are capable of collecting high-resolution data quickly, noninvasively, and at relatively low cost.

However, challenges remain in putting these tools to use. A recent paper reviewing 256 conservation drone projects highlighted some of these major obstacles, ranging from unintended social and ecological consequences of drone operations to still prohibitive costs, both in terms of hardware and in terms of storing and processing large volumes of data. The longstanding challenge of power/battery life remains as well.

If you're considering trying out drones for yourself, and want to explore the possibilities and understand the major conversations happening around this technology, check out these beginner's resources and conversations from across the WILDLABS platform:

Three Resources for Beginners:

Conservation Technology User Guidelines Issue 5: Drones, World Wildlife Fund | Drones, best practices, ethics, regulations, case studies
WILDLABS Virtual Meetup Recording: Drones, Craig Elder, Dr. Claire Burke, and Gabriel Levin | Drones, thermal camera, wildlife crime, ML, biologging
New Paper: Drones and Bornean Orangutan Distribution, Sol Milne | Drones, data analysis, citizen science, community science, primates

Three Forum Threads for Beginners:

Curious about radio-tracking with drones? | Wildlife Drones, Biologging (5 replies)
Drones for GIS Best practice Document | Adrian Hughes, Drones (10 replies)
WWF Conservation Technology Series: Drones in Conservation | Aurélie Shapiro, Drones (7 replies)

Three Tutorials for Beginners:

How do I use a drone to capture radio-tracking data? | Debbie Saunders, Tech Tutors
How do I choose the right drone for my conservation goals? | Shashank Srinivasan, Tech Tutors
How do I strategically allocate drones for conservation? | Elizabeth Bondi, Tech Tutors

Want to know more about using drones, and learn from experts in the WILDLABS community? Make sure you join the conversation in our Drones group!

*Header photo: Parker Levinson, Point Blue Conservation Science

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@nancyalice
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Conservation Communicator | Technology for Wildlife Foundation (TfW)

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@serena.le
| she/her

Conservation tech enthusiast

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@Tysmucker
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Wildlife Biologist/Conflict Specialist and drone enthusiast in Montana

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@mayasitunayake

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@alsnothome

I'm a wildlife ecologist with interests in a range of technology.

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@stienheremans
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Remote sensing researcher for environmental monitoring and nature conservation/restoration

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@TravisBayer

Movement Ecologist studying the where, why, and how animals move throughout our world. Current work is investigating the movement and energetics of large neotropical bats in a changing environment with ephemeral resources.

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@tomwhite101
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Agroecology Geek

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@steffnat

BSc Forest Engineering, MSc GIS Sciences, Drone researcher

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@Lenny

University of British Columbia

Postdoc at UBC, exploring how drones enhance wildlife conservation using thermal cameras & AI tools to refine monitoring of large mammal populations in Canada & compare these approaches to traditional methods.

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@SareachChea
| Sareach

Conservation International

I graduated in Ms of Entomology, and currently I work with Conservation International Cambodia as Biodiversity and Science Senior Coordinator.

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@Heloise
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Bio-acoustician, marine biologist, marine mammal specialist, drone enthusiast

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Description	Activity	Replies	Groups	Updated
Thesis Collaboration	Hi Simon,We (Reneco International Wildlife Consultants) have an ongoing collaboration with a local University (Abu Dhabi, UAE) for developing AI tools (cameratrap/drone...		Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Animal Movement, Camera Traps, Citizen Science, Connectivity, Drones, Early Career, eDNA & Genomics, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools, Sensors	4 months 1 week ago
Recommended Hardware to stitch together Drone Imagery into Orthomosaics	Thank you David, a phenomenal source!	+10	Drones, Geospatial, Protected Area Management Tools	4 months 2 weeks ago
UAV flight planning software recommendations?	I've used both Dronelink and Litchi for flight planning with my DJI Mini SE - and then stitched in WebODM. Both apps support most DJI drones that have a suporting SDK. I'm not...		Drones	5 months ago
Photogrammetry of Coral Reef Breakwaters	Hi Matthew Wow, what an amazing project! It is incredible how you have managed to figure out some of the complexities of combining underwater imagery with UAV imagery. I am...		Drones, Geospatial, Marine Conservation, Protected Area Management Tools	5 months ago
Mass Detection of Wildlife Snares Using Airborne Synthetic Radar	Hats off to your team for this absolute game-changing technology! We rescue stray and wild animals in Taiwan, and the bulk of our work is saving animals maimed by wire snares...	+37	AI for Conservation, Drones, Emerging Tech, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Wildlife Crime	6 months ago
Drones for GIS Best practice Document	Adrian,Many thanks for v2.0 of the GIS best practices document. How does one obtain a copy of the RSPB code of practice B09 referenced in the best practices document? The link in...	+8	Drones	6 months 2 weeks ago
Synopsis of current autonomous drone tech?	Hi,I wonder if anyone could provide a synopsis of where drone tech currently sites for autonomous usage and AI implementation for surveys...		Drones	6 months 2 weeks ago
Can wireless charging technology be used for animal sensors?	No problem at all Yu (@JY) and good luck with your studies! Happy to discuss this and any other ideas any time.All the best,Rob	+10	Sensors, Animal Movement, Connectivity, Drones, Open Source Solutions, Emerging Tech	6 months 3 weeks ago
Seeking Advice on Thermal Drones for Night-Time Elephant Observation	180m is indeed very high and from above. I think a 640x512 thermal sensor with a 70mm lens can see animals at at 180m from sideways and could recognise something as a deer, but...	+11	Drones, Human-Wildlife Conflict	7 months 1 week ago
Global model for Livestock detection in airborne imagery - Data, Applications, and Needs	Hi @benweinstein !Surely a general detector might be very useful for detecting objects in aerial imagery! Maybe something similar to what MegaDetector does in camera trap images,...		AI for Conservation, Open Source Solutions, Protected Area Management Tools, Drones, Geospatial	8 months 2 weeks ago
Open Source Photogrammetry Software	RealityCapture is now free to use for students, educators, and hobbyists and for companies making less than $1 million USD/year.Best regards!Steffen		Drones	9 months 2 weeks ago
Drones for IUU (illegal fishing activities & vessel monitoring)	Hi all,maybe it helps 😉 My free manual 'Drones in Biomonitoring' - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8077113 can help to get (more) knowledge how to proceed easily and successfully...		Drones, Marine Conservation, Wildlife Crime	9 months 2 weeks ago