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
Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI)
Wildlife ecologist
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Dzanga-Ndoki national park biodiversity monitoring
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- @cleo
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Southern African Wildlife College
I am ecologist working in African conservation areas who loves wildlife & wild landscapes. I increasingly recognize that conservation is about people, especially those living in & around protected areas. Finding ways to benefit marginalized people is my passion.
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Technologist, birder, photographer and mountain guide.
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- @vandita_shukla
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PhD candidate studying drone flight planning for enabling tracking and identification of individual characteristics of wildlife; member of the WildDrone, an MSCA Doctoral Network funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research
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- @amykukulya
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Amy Kukulya is an ocean tech innovator and conservationist from the US. She has captured thrilling footage of megafauna using novel biologger and oceanrobotCams—SharkCam, TurtleCam featured across the globe on mainstream media outlets.
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- @fsanger
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Environmentalist and Python developer working in the realm of Remote Sensing. Fascinated by the intersection of technology and nature, with a focus on machine learning, ecological modeling, and biodiversity monitoring. 🌍
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Funding
The Resilient Futures Technology Grant Program by DroneDeploy.org is dedicated to fostering radical inclusion in urgent solutions. Our mission is to enhance outcomes for underresourced populations by prioritizing...
26 August 2024
Article
Join us in celebrating this year’s Judging Panele Award winners!
19 August 2024
Article
Join us in celebrating this year’s Community Choice Award winners!
15 August 2024
Article
Vote for your favorite submissions that best demonstrate conservation impact, novel innovation/discovery, and strong storytelling of the work and the sector.
12 August 2024
Article
Handbook 'Drones in Biomonitoring & Nature Conservation'
Steffen Döring
The use of drones can contribute in various ways to increase the effectiveness of monitoring, reduce costs, and minimize disturbances. This manual has been specifically developed to support conservation efforts and to...
27 June 2024
Link
Handbook 'Drones in Biomonitoring & Nature Conservation'
Steffen Döring
The use of drones can contribute in various ways to increase the effectiveness of monitoring, reduce costs, and minimize disturbances. This manual has been developed to support conservation efforts and to help make the...
27 June 2024
Article
Enter to win a free thermal camera!
Alex Rood
WILDLABS is partnering with FLIR to give away a FLIR ONE Edge Pro to 5 community members.
26 June 2024
Article
Case Study: Drone-based radio-tracking of Eastern Bandicoots
Wildlife Drones
Wildlife Drones was deployed by Zoos Victoria in a trial project tracking captive-bred Eastern Barred Bandicoots that were tagged and released into the wild
14 June 2024
Careers
Fully funded PhD in AI biodiversity monitoring
Benno Simmons
Come and do the first research into responsible AI for biodiversity monitoring, developing ways to ensure these AIs are safe, unbiased and accountable.
11 June 2024
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New WILDLABS Funding & Finance group
Frank van der Most
WildLabs will soon launch a 'Funding and Finance' group. What would be your wish list for such a group? Would you be interested in co-managing or otherwise helping out?
5 June 2024
Funding
Apply! 2024 Conservation Tech Award
Jordan Steward
Now accepting applications for two $15,000 grants to help protect wildlife through cutting-edge, technology-driven efforts
3 June 2024
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Share Your Work in a Conservation Technology Video
Robin Marti Sarasa
Do you have photos and videos of your conservation tech work? We want to include them in a conservation technology showcase video
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| Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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| https://news.mongabay.com/2019/01/drones-and-thermal-cameras-help-detect-cryptic-species/ |
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Drones | 6 years 4 months ago | |
| If you need a piece of exposed (black) film then please get in touch. I still take "real" slides and have a few black frames at start and end of each roll of film.... |
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Drones | 6 years 6 months ago | |
| We are starting a new drones project at the RSPB to looks at multispectral cameras. I would love to hear about any experience people... |
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Drones | 6 years 7 months ago | |
| Hi Michael! Thanks so much for following up. I have yet to really get my feet wet with drones & algal blooms (my water quality issue of interest at the moment), but... |
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Drones | 6 years 11 months ago | |
| hi Stephen, Kites have gimbals too (ranging from simple strings to metal rigs) and you can connect to a camera much like a drone. In my case I have a gimbal... |
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Drones | 7 years ago | |
| Hi Chris, Your project sounds interesting! How's it coming along? I'm based in the SF Bay Area. I don't have much drone experience, but it's something... |
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Drones | 7 years 5 months ago | |
| Hi, I would like to share this article with good social reflections about drones and mapping: https://forestcompass.org/drones-pros-... |
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Drones | 7 years 5 months ago | |
| Excellent - started reading this yesterday. This is a very timely and pertinent paper. Thanks for sharing. |
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Drones | 7 years 8 months ago | |
| Hi Mazidi, all the systems that I recommended are separate systems with their own GPS, not connected to the drone. Just the last one was the only finished product. Good luck... |
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Drones | 7 years 8 months ago | |
| The European Space Agency have an exciting funding opportunity coming up and got in touch with us to ask that we share it with you,... |
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Drones | 7 years 10 months ago | |
| For those who couldn't make it to the webinar, there's a recording at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0smOWFNRzuoLXpPSWREUnE2YzA/view. What do people think? Is this the... |
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Drones | 7 years 10 months ago | |
| People in this thread might be interested in this special issue of remote sensing in ecology and conservation, looking for papers on "New Approaches to Citizen Science... |
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Drones | 7 years 10 months ago |
