Headland Taylor, Ostendorf Bertram, Taggart David
School of Biological Science The University of Adelaide Adelaide SA Australia.
College of Science and Engineering Flinders University Bedford Park SA Australia.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Aug 1;11(17):12173-12181. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7981. eCollection 2021 Sep.
The use of drones in wildlife research and management is increasing. Recent evidence has demonstrated the impact of drones on animal behavior, but the response of nocturnal animals to drone flight remains unknown. Utilizing a lightweight commercial drone, the behavioral response of southern hairy-nosed wombats to drone flights was observed at Kooloola Station, Swan Reach, South Australia. All wombats flown over during both day and night flights responded behaviorally to the presence of drones. The response differed based on time of day. The most common night-time behavior elicited by drone flight was retreat, compared to stationary alertness behavior observed for daytime drone flights. The behavioral response of the wombats increased as flight altitude decreased. The marked difference of behavior between day and night indicates that this has implications for studies using drones. The behavior observed during flights was altered due to the presence of the drone, and therefore, shrewd study design is important (i.e., acclimation period to drone flight). Considering the sensory adaptations of the target species and how this may impact its behavioral response when flying at night is essential.
无人机在野生动物研究和管理中的应用正在增加。最近的证据表明了无人机对动物行为的影响，但夜间动物对无人机飞行的反应仍然未知。在南澳大利亚州斯旺里奇的库洛拉站，利用一架轻型商用无人机观察了南部毛鼻袋熊对无人机飞行的行为反应。在白天和夜间飞行中，所有被无人机飞越的袋熊都对无人机的存在做出了行为反应。反应因一天中的时间而异。与白天无人机飞行时观察到的静止警觉行为相比，无人机飞行引发的最常见夜间行为是撤退。袋熊的行为反应随着飞行高度的降低而增加。白天和夜间行为的显著差异表明这对使用无人机的研究有影响。飞行过程中观察到的行为因无人机的存在而改变，因此，精明的研究设计很重要（即无人机飞行适应期）。考虑目标物种的感官适应以及这在夜间飞行时可能如何影响其行为反应至关重要。
