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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Conservationist currently working as UAS Remote Pilot & with ecoacoustics
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- @magali
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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Postdoctoral researcher at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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Faculty Manager for Higher Education. Lecturer in Animal Behaviour, Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation
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Machine Learning Developer willing to contribute to AI for the planet projects
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Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Assistant Director/Curator of Prospect Park Zoo of the Wildlife Conservation Society
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Engineer, drone pilot, additive manufacturing hobbyist. Seeking the magic that happens at the intersection of conservation and tech.
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Lead Geospatial Analyst/Programmer at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
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Researcher in behavioural biology & conservation focussing on wild canids
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Director of Elephant Crisis Fund, Research Director of Save the Elephants
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I'm a GIS and Remote Sensing specialist with a focus on conservation, currently working as a Visual Data Scientist. I'm passionate about leveraging AI tools to enhance conservation and environmental management efforts.
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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 |
